Year Three, The Trial of the Heart
by cypsiman2
Summary: The sequel to Year Two, The Trial of Light. Judai's third year at Duel Academia sees everyone on their guard, preparing for the next enemy to strike. But when that enemy does strike, will the dreams in their hearts be enough for them to fight back?
1. Chapter 1

Enter, Brilliant Shining Emi Tanaka

**Author's Notes:** Hello, and welcome to Year Three, The Trial of the Heart. This took longer than I expected to put together, owing to real life events that I will not bore you with the details of. As this fic is a sequel to Year Two, The Trial of Light, and Year One, The Trial of Shadows, I would recommend reading those two stories first before starting on this one, or else you could become quite confused. I plan on posting one chapter a week, and I hope that you all enjoy the story. And of course, reviews are always appreciated. And of course, I do not own Yugioh GX. That said, I'll get out of the way, and let the story begin.

* * *

"Boy, there sure aren't that many people here, are there?" Judai Yuki said with a distinct tone of disappointment in his voice, and his friends had to agree; from their vantage point on the upper level, at least half of the dueling stages were empty, and of the ones being used, at least half of the applicants showed no sign of potential worth mentioning.

"Well, when you think about it, its to be expected." Momiji Todo said as he followed a duel involving an Insect specialist. "After the events of the last couple of years at Duel Academia, people can't help but suspect the institution that was meant to protect against such events as being the very source of them." At that moment the Insect duelist, a young man with pale blonde hair, failed miserably against the duel examiner, though he was thanked for his time.

"Even so," Rei Saotome said as she watched a Machine duelist barely squeak by, "there've got to be more people out there who know better, right? I mean, we've all done our part, so shouldn't we be getting a little appreciation?"

"Showing our age, our we Rei?" Edo Phoenix said with a smirk as he looked upon Duel Academia's youngest student. "Though believe me, I understand that desire quite fully." Edo remembered his time in the Pro Dueling League, of being the youngest Ace on record. "But we've all had to grow past that sort of indulgence in order to make it through last year."

"Still, maybe we'll be lucky and it won't really matter." Momoe Hamaguchi said, taking notice of the Duel Examiners who were on a smoking break. "I mean, I know Takuma said something was supposed to happen, but that doesn't mean its going to be this year."

At that moment, Professor Chronos De Medici stood up from his seat and looked over the remaining duels in progress. "Attention everyone!" The duels in progress paused as the participants turned towards him. "Can someone please explain to me why it is that none of you are dueling to the full extent of your spirit? These are supposed to be application duels for Duel Academia, the most prestigious dueling institution in the world!" Professor Chronos then turned to Judai and the others. "Perhaps I ought to have some of our veteran students show you all the sort of duel that you should all aspire to?"

"An interesting idea, Professor Chronos De Medici." The voice of a stranger called out, calm, cultured, masculine. As he entered into everyone's view, they saw that he was young, only a few years older than Judai and the other third year students. His hair was short, red, and spiky, and around his neck he wore what appeared to be some manner of prayer beads. The temple arms of his glasses rested on pronounced ears, and the frames were very thin, suggesting that they were there more for the sake of the impression they created as opposed correcting a problem with vision. "But I would like to propose a variation on that plan, if you don't mind." The man was followed by a woman dressed in the fashion of a navy officer, with short cropped hair and a stern focused expression on her face. The man smiled at her, and she smiled at him in turn. "You see, I've just finalized the paperwork for the sponsorship of a number of potential students for Duel Academia." As though deliberately timed, eight young duelists entered the arena, each already equipped with their own Duel Discs. "Eight, to be precise."

"Wonderful!" Professor Chronos said as he clasped his hands together and approached the young man. "Now here is someone who appreciates our work, Mr…?"

"Amon Garam." Manjoume said, drawing all eyes towards himself. "Scion of the Garam Group, though in truth he's more of a regent then he is an heir." He looked down upon Amon, who returned the look with a self-assured smile. "Tell me, did I make any mistakes?"

"Not at all, Jun Manjoume, exile of the Manjoume Group; still, it is good that you remember what you learned while you were a part of your family." If this was meant to provoke a reaction from Manjoume, Amon failed. "Indeed, it is my younger brother, Shido Garam, who will inherit the chairman's seat after I've prepared everything for him." Amon turned his attention back to Professor Chronos. "And I've determined that as part of those preparations that the Garam Group will support Duel Academia and will have at its disposal experienced duelists who can call Duel Academia, home."

"I see, I see," Professor Chronos said, nodding and holding his chin in his hand, "and you mentioned something about a variation on me having our most veteran students duel each other to show the new recruits what they should be striving for?"

"That's right; you see, the truth is that I have many more tasks to resolve on this day, but I still wish to be here to observe my candidate's application duels. So my variation is that one of my duelists face you, Professor Chronos, and if they're victorious, then all of them will be admitted, with the victor placed immediately into Obelisk Blue."

"An all or nothing gambit, I see…but who shall the lucky young duelist be?" Professor Chronos scanned his eyes across the applicants, stopping when he reached a young lady with long spiky orange hair with a distinctly grousing expression on her face. "Something seems to be troubling you young lady. Would you perhaps like someone to talk to?"

"Don't condescend to me you old freak." Her voice was curt, precisely measured and employed to express her disdain.

"Young lady!" Professor Chronos said, leaning in to look her in her small brown eyes. "If you have any desire to have a future here at Duel Academia, then you are going to have to show your faculty some respect!"

Amon Garam chuckled. "Emi Tanaka, you seem to be in a spirited mood."

"What can I say, when I see a clown I have a reaction." Emi Tanaka said, her voice noticeably less acerbic.

"I understand." Amon said as he looked directly at Professor Chronos. "Truth be told, your fashion sense is somewhat antiquated."

"Hmph! So says the man wearing the green cape!" Professor Chronos then turned to the side and snapped his fingers at one of the examiners, who promptly brought over Chronos's duel coat. "Nevertheless, I will accept your offer, Mr. Amon Garam, and we shall see whether or not Miss Emi Tanaka can pay the check that her insolent mouth has written!"

As the two duelists took their places in the nearby dueling stage, Judai and his friends talked among themselves.

"You know Judai, the last time I saw Professor Chronos get this worked up was when he dueled you for your Application Duel." Asuka Tenjouin said, remembering the day she first met Judai and how that hiccup in her own life's plan changed everything for her.

"You think so?" Judai said, not really sure if that was a compliment or not.

"Though in all fairness Judai," Daichi Misawa said as he patted his friend on the shoulder, "Your self-assured cockiness was much more endearing."

"Thanks Misawa." Judai said in a light sarcastic tone that held no barb.

"Quiet you guys, they're just about to start." Junko Makita said, reminding them all of why they were there to begin with.

A light breeze blew in from on an open window on the first level, briefly lifting the hem of Professor Chronos's coat. "Now, I will start this duel off by summoning Green Gadget from my hand, and with its effect I add Red Gadget from the deck to my hand. Then I'll set three cards, and end my turn." As the machine-man took form before Professor Chronos, he took pride in his patience; only two years ago he would have tried to crush her in one go, but he knew better now.

"You know," Emi Tanaka said with a sneer on her face, "just because you like to dress like a clown doesn't mean you should duel like one."

"That's mighty big talk for someone who has yet to even take their first turn." Professor Chronos said, keeping his temper under control.

"Oh, is that all? All right then, the moment you've obviously been waiting for; I summon to the field Ehren the Lightsworn Monk!" For the first time Emi Tanaka seemed to be excited, something other then laconic and acerbic. Ehren, a dark skinned woman dressed in a tight white and gold breastplate and a dark red skirt, kicked out in practice, and Emi copied her monster's actions.

"Rather like a little kid with a toy, no?" Professor Chronos said with a chuckle. "Still, I have to admit I've not heard of this particular monster."

"I would have been surprised if you had, Clown." She said as she admired her own monster. "Amon Garam sponsored us, remember? That means he provided the funds to Industrial Illusions needed to provide all of us with our ideal decks."

"Is that so? Well, don't be too overconfident, young lady; after all, there is more to being a great duelist then just having a good deck. You must be able to draw out its potential in an actual duel."

"And if you would stop interrupting me, you'd see that for yourself. Ehren, attack!" The monk leaped over and kicked Green Gadget's head off its body for 200 points of damage.

"And with that, you've activated my trap card, Ancient Calling." An assemblage of gears and wheels manifested where the Red Gadget once stood. "When a machine type monster I control is destroyed by battle while in attack mode, I can special summon a machine monster from my deck of equal or lower level. Therefore, I will summon Ancient Gear to the field."

"Whatever, its nothing compared to the power I'll gain with my field spell card, Realm of Light." At once the dueling stage changed; a pair of great pillars a magnificent city, and in the sky the sun shined through the cloud cover effortlessly. The light shined especially bright upon Emi, who seemed to glow with her own light. "And now, during my end phase, Ehren's effect activates, sending the top three cards of my deck to the grave." As she did this, the light shining on the field grew just a little brighter. "And whenever cards are sent from my deck to the grave, I can place a Shine Counter on Realm of Light, which raises the attack power of all Lightsworn monsters I control by one hundred points."

"Hmph! There's an interesting gimmick, but isn't that a bit risky; you could easily lose out on an important card that way." But just as Professor Chronos made this declaration, a brilliant light erupted from the earth, and from that light emerged a humanoid wolf clad in the same white and gold armor as Ehren.

"Actually, when Wulf the Lightsworn Beast is sent from the deck to the grave, it gets special summoned to the field." Emi swept her fist out in emulation of her monster.

"Very interesting, but you'll have to learn to not to be so rude." And so strange in a duel, Professor Chronos thought to himself.

"Whatever, old Clown. Say, don't you have a turn to take, or something like that? You know, so we can get back to my turn."

"I do indeed, young lady." The vein on Professor Chronos's head was becoming visible despite himself. "And now you will witness the controlled skill of a Duel Academia Professor! First, since I control an Ancient Gear on my field, I am able to special summon another one from my hand." The two basic monsters now stood ready for battle. "And now that I control two monsters in attack mode, I can activate my trap card, Impending Sacrifice, allowing me to add a level eight monster from my deck to my hand, and I sacrifice my two monsters to summon that very level eight monster, Ancient Gear Golem!"

Despite being an antiquated model, the Ancient Gear Golem's power was clear to all who saw it. "Now, I will have my great monster attack your Ehren, returning your little bit of damage more than six times over!" Ancient Gear Golem took a step forward and ran gigantic fist through Ehren, dealing 1300 points of damage to Emi. "And with that out of the way, I will set one card to end my turn."

"Finally, now we can get back to my turn." Emi said, fuming with impatience. But the moment she drew her next card, Wulf suddenly collapsed upon itself, fading away into nothing.

"During your standby phase, I activated my trap card, Proof of Powerlessness; If I control a level seven or higher monster, I can destroy every level five or lower monster they control." Professor Chronos narrowed his eyes as he observed Emi Tanaka's reaction.

"Powerlessness?" Her fist was shaking, her whole being was shaking. "Proof of…" She was seething, her anger plainly transcending mere annoyance. "You fucking bastard, I'll kill you for that! I activate Solar Recharge; I discard a Lightsworn monster from my hand and then draw two cards, followed by sending the top two cards of my deck to the grave." The Realm of Light grew ever brighter, seemingly enflamed by the emotions within Emi. "And now, since I have at least four Lightsworn monsters with different names in my grave, I can special summon from my hand, Judgment Dragon!"

A towering pillar of light, the creature that emerged from it was covered in white feathers, walking upon four legs with vicious blood red claws. Its wings were spread out, as though gathering all the light around itself into itself. "And now, by paying one thousand life points, Judgment Dragon can destroy all other cards on the field!" A huge wave of light flowed out from Emi as she swept her arms out, it flowed into her monster, and the Judgment Dragon roared, its every feather glowing with its own brilliant white light. A thousand lances of light shot out, and then they all curved around Ancient Gear Golem and into Professor Chronos De Medici.

"I'm afraid, young lady," Professor Chronos said through the solid-vision induced pain, "that you'll not be killing me or my monster any time soon." He then took all the light had pierced him and gathered it into his hands. "You see, my quick-spell card, My Body As A Shield, I can use it to negate an effect that would destroy my monsters, and destroy the offending card in their place." He tossed all that light back into Judgment Dragon, which exploded in response. "All at the cost of fifteen hundred life points."

"…Not a clown." Emi muttered, but Professor Chronos heard it all the same.

"I see, are you now willing to deal with me with respect?"

"Don't misunderstand me, clown." The sheer venom behind her words caused Professor Chronos to take a step back. "Not a clown, I can't afford to lose to a clown like you, especially if someone like you is the head of the Obelisk Blue dorm." She took a moment to breathe, to steady herself. "I set one card, and then I summon Jain the Lightsworn Paladin in attack mode, and during the end phase his effect will send the top two cards of my deck to the grave." The Realm of Light grew brighter as the third Shine Counter settled into place, raising Jain's attack power from 1800 to 2100. Though he held his sword up high, though Emi held her hand up as though she were holding that sword up, he was still plainly outmatched by his enemy. "That will end my turn."

"Hmph, to be honest I have to say that I'm not sure that you are Duel Academia material; your temperament is exactly the sort that our enemies out there would seek to manipulate against yourself and those around you, and while we can help, I'm not sure that we could provide the best environment for such." If Professor Chronos believed that his words would affect Emi…

"How about you shut up and let the Duel prove my strength of spirit, or are you such a cowardly clown that you can't avoid making excuses in advance?"

"Very well then, if you plan on being so insistent in this matter, then I shall bring this duel to its inevitable conclusion! I summon Red Gadget from my hand, adding Yellow Gadget from my deck to my hand, and then I'll have Ancient Gear Golem attack your Lightsworn Paladin!" Jain's shield availed him not, Ancient Gear Golem's fist punched through effortlessly for 900 points of damage. "And now Red Gadget will attack directly!" But the Red Gadget did not advance even a single step before a brilliant circle of light erupted before Emi.

"My trap card, Glorious Illusion, allows me to special summon a Lightsworn monster in my grave to the field in attack mode." A dragon built like a griffon, with a great mane of blond fur contrasting against brilliant white scales, appeared on the field. Emi ran her fingers through her monsters mane, taking the time to appreciate its beauty. "Gragonith's effect; for every Lightsworn monster with a different name in my grave, Gragonith gains 300 attack points. Thus, with the three Shine Counters on Realm of Light, and the nine Lightsworn monsters in my grave, that gives Gragonith an attack power of five thousand!" Gragonith grew until towered over even Ancient Gear Golem, shining with all the brilliance of a second sun. "Do you dare question my strength and integrity now, you antiquated clown?"

"I do, because you have yet to prove yourself worthy of Duel Academia; no matter where you come from or what kind of deck you use, no special exceptions will be provided. Now then, as for this duel in progress, I will activate Advance Draw, sacrificing my Ancient Gear Golem to draw two cards." Ancient Gear Golem crumbled into the earth, decaying away within moments. "Next I activate Ancient Gear Workshop to return Ancient Gear Golem from my grave back to my hand, and activate Trade In, discarding Ancient Gear Golem to draw two more cards." The clattering of gears falling into the abyss filled the air. "Now I will set two cards, and end my turn."

"Pathetic. Is that all you have to show for all that card drawing, clown?" Emi said with a chuckle as she drew her next card. "Believe me, no matter what it is you have set, its no match for me. Gragonith, attack!" Gragonith began to focus its breath weapon…

"I activate my spell cards, Shrink and Limiter Removal!" Gragonith was quickly cut down to size from 5000 attack points to only 2500, while the electricity flowing through Red Gadget infused it with strength as its attack jumped from 1300 to 2600. Red Gadget brought its fist down upon Gragonith's nose, defeating it for 100 points of damage. "Now, let us see if you can recover from this little setback."

"Believe me, in the grand scheme of things, this doesn't even begin to qualify as a setback; because you destroyed my Lightsworn monster, I can activate my quick-spell card, Reprisal of Light." As she activated the card, an unbridled energy filled her voice, the volume grew as she spoke. "With this, I discard a Lightsworn monster in my hand to the grave, and then I special summon a level four or lower Lightsworn monster in my grave to the field in attack mode, so I choose Shire the Lightsworn Spirit!" At first the monster was but a tiny little white sprite, but it quickly grew bigger and bigger, standing as a giant before Emi. "Shire's effect gives her three hundred attack points for every Lightsworn monster with a different name in my grave, and don't forget Realm of Light's effect; that raises Shire's attack power to thirty-seven hundred points. Furthermore, Reprisal of Light has one last effect; once the monster is summoned, I then send one card from my deck to the grave." A light flashed by Shire's side, and a long thin sword appeared in her hand. "When Lightsworn Sabre is sent from the deck to the grave, I can equip it to a Lightsworn monster I control, raising its attack power by seven hundred points!"

"For…Forty-four hundred attack points!" Professor Chronos called out as his enhanced Red Gadget was effortlessly sliced in two for 1800 points of damage.

"Don't worry too much." Emi said with a smirk. "Shire will be destroyed during the end phase, after sending two cards from my deck to the grave. Unfortunately, we won't be reaching your turn, since I still have a normal summon left, which I will use to bring out Jenis the Lightsworn Mender." A red haired woman holding a scepter in her right hand, and gentle light magic in the other. "And when a Lightsworn monster I control sends cards from my deck to the grave, Jenis's effect activates, increasing my life point total by five hundred points, and inflicting five hundred points of damage to my opponent."

"What!?" Normally five hundred points of damage was not such a big deal, but with only four hundred life points left, Professor Chronos was knocked down by five solid bursts of light around his body. "You…young lady…"

"I am Emi Tanaka, clown." She said as she stepped forward, now standing over Professor Chronos. "And I swear that I will use all the strength at my disposal to see to it that the new head of the Obelisk Blue dorm will be a figure of dignity and grace."

Amon Garam laughed gently as he placed his hand on Emi's shoulder. "A splendid goal to have for your first year, Emi Tanaka."

"Well, I just felt that I deserved better than a clown." Emi then turned her eyes to Jun Manjoume, and glared for an instant before turning back to Amon Garam. "So, are we done here."

"Indeed we are, thanks to you Emi." Amon began to depart, joined by the military-dressed woman. He paused, and addressed the other duelists that he'd brought with him. "I look forward to seeing you all excel in your new environment. Make me proud, everyone."

"Yes sir, Mr. Amon Garam." All eight duelists said as one, and as one they were escorted by the duel examiners to receive their official Duel Academia uniforms, passing by Professor Takuma Saiou and Professor Mizuchi Saiou. One of them, a young man with tightly curled blue hair, looked at them as he passed by, but he did not give away his mood.

"So, what do you think sister?" Takuma said just above a whisper.

"Amon Garam has definitely found a powerful group of duelists. We will need to be watchful, especially of him." She replied in the same tone.

"Indeed." They then looked over to Professor Chronos, who was being approached by a third party.

"All right Professor Chronos, don't you think you ought to get back up now." Professor Hibiki said as she stood over him.

"Hmph! I'm not allowed to take a rest break after such an invigorating duel." Professor Chronos then flipped onto his feet. "While her personality leaves much to be desired, she definitely merits placement in Obelisk Blue."

"Well don't worry too much; I'm pretty sure you'll find grounds to have her knocked down to Ra Yellow before long."

"Oh ha ha, truly Professor Hibiki, you are the very manifestation of wit."

Judai and his friends, meanwhile, began to make their own way back out, the duels for the day now concluded.

"Manjoume," Shou Marufuji asked as he looked up at the black haired Obelisk Blue, "Why do you think she glared at you like that?"

"Emi Tanaka? How would I know? She's clearly obsessed with strength and dignity, so that's at least one reason for her to notice me first."

"Well, whatever she and all her friends are like," Judai said as he walked along, "I'm sure we'll be having some incredible duels this year!"


	2. Chapter 2

Confrontation, Skeptic Shinji Kato

"Hello Rei, please take a seat and I'll be right with you." Head Nurse Ayukawa said without looking up from her monitor, clicking away at a rapid pace while looking thoroughly bored. She muttered to herself, "You'd think that handsome Mr. Garam could have donated some assistants to alleviate the boring stuff…heck, send over that Echo girl, it's not like she ever does anything, at least when people are looking anyway…"

Rei blushed a bit at what she'd just heard; it was one thing for her to be a bit immature, she was only thirteen years old, but Head Nurse Ayukawa had to be in her late twenties easily. Rei thought about clearing her throat to get the older woman's attention, and while wary about the potential risks… "Head Nurse Ayukawa?"

The woman looked up from her work and saw how close Rei was to her. "Oh, sorry, it's a bad habit of mine. Judai and Asuka could tell you all about it." She then turned off the monitor and turned in her seat to face Rei directly. "So, how can I help you? Any odd reactions to the Solid Vision system? Have you developed any allergic reactions to something on the menu? Worried that you're not growing as quick as you'd like?"

Rei's face turned as red as her uniform at the questions Head Nurse Ayukawa posed to her, especially the last one. "No!" Rei paused as Head Nurse Ayukawa stared at her. "I mean, Head Nurse Ayukawa," but before Rei could get any further…

"Please, just call me Emi, the last thing I need right now is needless formalities." Rei nodded, nervous tension lifting itself from her shoulders.

"Right, Emi, heh heh…" Rei cleared her throat once more. "Actually, I'm here on Edo's behalf."

"Edo Phoenix? That poor young man? Why, what's happened to him? Is he too injured to be brought here?"

"No, it's nothing like that!" Rei called out, stopping Emi from getting ahead of herself. "He just had a rough duel today and he's pretty shook up about the whole thing, so I was hoping I could ask some advice from a professional for what I should say."

"Oh. Well, I guess I can see why he wouldn't come to me himself, I suppose…but the way I understand it, didn't you duel alongside him last year in the battle against the Association of Light? And didn't you help your cousin come to his senses?"

Rei breathed in deeply. "That stuff is all true, but this duel…well, I want to help and I don't really know how."

"All right Rei, why don't you tell me what happened and why you think you need to come to me."

"Okay. Well, Edo and I were just about to get out of Professor Takuma Saiou's class when Shinji Kato showed up and…"

* * *

"Excuse me young man, but my first year class won't be for half an hour, Mr…" Takuma Saiou looked upon the young Ra Yellow boy with the tightly curled blue hair, and remembered the look that had been exchanged the day before.

"Shinji Kato, and I'm afraid I won't be attending your class. Not so long as you're teaching it, at any rate." As Shinji Kato spoke, he kept hopping from one foot to the other, as though unable to fully stop moving. "The same applies to your sister as well, so don't think you can pull some sort of hat trick to deceive me."

"Mr. Kato, is there the chance we can discuss why you seem intent on sabotaging your own education? You know you can't advance at Duel Academia if you skip a third of your coursework." Takuma became nervous as he saw the energy mounting within Shinji. It was…

"No, I don't think I am intent on sabotaging my education; I'm simply trying to protect myself from the man who tried to destroy my life, who did manage to destroy the lives of my mother, of my father, and of my sisters." At that moment Shinji Kato paused. He retrieved a tiny bottle from his coat pocket and quickly produced a gel-capsule from it, which he swallowed. With that action, it seemed as though his body had calmed down. "It seems like I'm going to have to speak to Head Nurse Ayukawa later on about increasing the dosage."

"If that's the case," Edo said as he stepped between Shinji Kato and Takuma Saiou, "then I'd advice you to take this time to think about what you're doing, and reconsider your actions."

"Edo Phoenix, don't insult me with your presumption; I suffer from mild muscle spasms, but the faculty of my senses and my mind remain fully functional." Shinji then looked past Edo, right back to Takuma Saiou. "I can still see the suffering of my family whenever I close my eyes, all because YOU, you had to throw a temper-tantrum and try to take over the world." Shinji Kato paused, letting his words sink in.

"Shinji, my sister and I know that what we did was wrong, that's why we're trying to redeem ourselves…" Takuma halted, finding himself on uncertain ground, unsure of what path to take.

"Do you think that I, and the countless thousands, tens of thousands, all the myriad peoples that you hurt, that any of us cares in the least what you want? At that time, you proclaimed that your 'Eternal Dawn' wouldn't harm anyone who was part of the Association of Light, but when Judai and Asuka defeated you, the backlash had an incalculable psychological impact, and in my family's case, it left me the only one who could still function in society."

"Shinji…I…"

"It's okay, Saiou." Edo said as he interposed himself between Shinji and Takuma once more. "You don't need to say anything to him." He then focused his attention back to Shinji. "My parents…they died because of the fate that Takuma and Mizuchi foresaw and sought to fulfill. But I knew that a senseless vendetta was not what they would have wanted of me, and I'd be willing to bet that your family wouldn't have wanted the same of you."

"Hmph, do you really think that your suffering at his hands, gives you the right to pass sentence upon him by yourself, that your years of friendship with him overrides the strangers who suffered because of him?"

"Don't imagine that you can make me waver in my choice; I struggled throughout last year to find Justice, and I know that I was successful; my duel with Takuma proved it to me."

"All right; if you really think that your duel validated your believes, then face me right now, and lets see how those convictions stand against mine." The two duelists moved into position, and just as they were about to arm their Duel Discs…

"Hold it!" Rei Saotome declared, her arm held out. "While I do agree that the two of you ought to resolve this in a duel, but now is not the right time; I certainly have no intention of being late for Professor Hibiki's class."

"Well Rei, if you don't want to take that risk," Edo said with a confident smile on his face, "that's entirely up to you. But I have every confidence that this duel will not take long at all."

"Funny; even though I'll have a lot more time then you, I feel the same way." Shinji Kato said with a brief chuckle.

"Fine, I'll just be over here with Professor Saiou and wait for you two to get this over with." She said with a resigned sigh.

"I'll take the first turn, and summon to the field Test Ape." The room became dark for a moment, and when the light returned, there was some manner of primate imprisoned within a glass jar; wires, tubes, and other measuring devices were connected to the Test Ape, reading off vital statistics as needed. "Next, I activate my field spell card, Colosseum Cage of the Gladiator Beasts." The new field of battle was a broken landscape that locked both duelists where they stood. Numerous cells lined the walls, glowing eyes peering out of them. And in the center of that field, amidst the roughly worked stone and lines of power, was a sword buried in the stone.

"A dungeon…" Edo said to himself as he observed the environment of Shinji's field spell card.

"And like any dungeon, strength is needed to achieve freedom. And now I set two cards to end my turn."

"Two cards? You should know better then that against me." Edo said as his expression grew more cocky. "First I activate Devil's Sanctuary to special summon a metal devil token to the field, and I sacrifice that token to summon Mobius the Frost Monarch!" The king of ice stood proud within the colosseum, his bearing above that of those that were still imprisoned. Mobius summoned two spears of ice and threw them into Shinji's face down cards, destroying them. "The king has no need to fear the traps of those who are themselves trapped! Mobius, attack Test Ape!" Mobius placed his hands upon Test Ape's chamber, and then froze the whole thing. He shattered Test Ape in a single blow, then returned to Edo's side.

"And now to get the results of the test." Shinji Kato said, pointing down to where the Test Ape once was; the measuring devices were still there, and it seemed as though they were beeping. "When Test Ape is destroyed by battle, I can special summon a level four or lower Gladiator Beast from my deck." A grinding sound as one of the cages began to open, and from out it came a huge roaring bear, clad in the armor of a roman gladiator. "And when a monster is special summoned from either player's deck, I add one counter to Colosseum, and for every counter, my Gladiator Beasts gain one hundred attack points." Thus, Gladiator Beast Andal possessed 2000 attack points.

"Unfortunately for you, Mobius is still far stronger then that." Edo looked over his hand; judging from Test Ape and Colosseum's effect, Shinji's strategy seemed to revolve around summoning monsters directly from his deck in an effort to swarm him. Truly, a worse match against his Monarchs could not be found. "I set two cards, and end my turn. Shinji, let me say this now; so long as you let your resentment cloud your mind, you can't hope to win against me."

"And as I said before, the faculty of my senses and of my mind are both clear. You are the one who has allowed your past friendship with Takuma to cloud your judgment, a point that I shall prove forthwith! Since I control a Gladiator Beast, I can special summon Test Tiger from my hand." In truth little more than a cub, Test Tiger was clad in armor like Andal's, yet also possessed the same sort of measuring equipment that Test Ape did. "And with Test Tiger's effect, I sacrifice it to return Gladiator Beast Andal to my deck and then special summon Gladiator Beast Secutor, again from my deck with its effect accessible." Test Tiger vanished, and Gladiator Beast Andal returned to its cage. Another cage elsewhere in the Colosseum opened up, and from out of it came a reptilian warrior clad in blue armor, and upon its shoulders were bulky looking cannons. And yet, for all the effort that was put into bringing the monster out, it had only 400 attack points of its own, and Colosseum's effect only raised it to 600.

"And now that its on the field, I equip Secutor with Gladiator Beast Battle Halbred and Gladiator Beast Battle Manica." Secutor ambled about a bit, retrieving the two armaments that Shinji referred to; it wore the manica on its left arm, and held the halbred in its right hand. "With all these pieces brought together, I will now take the path to freeing the greatest Gladiator Beast of all; Secutor, attack Mobius!"

Edo could only stare in shock as the far weaker monster charged forward, only to receive merciless beating in the process. And yet, it took all the blows upon its Manica, preserving itself from destruction. And when Mobius had exhausted itself, Secutor swung its halbred down upon Edo's face-down Blue-on-Blue trap card, destroying it.

"And so, even though I take eighteen hundred points of damage, the results will be worth it; now, with Secutor's effect, at the end of the Battle Phase, I special summon two Gladiator Beasts from my deck to the field." Secutor got down on its arms and legs, and fired its canons at two of the cages in the colosseum, shattering them. Their occupants charged out from the shadows and the smoke, and as they approached one of them launched a huge blast of water at Mobius, obliterating it utterly.

"Mobius!" The smoke cleared, and now he saw the two monsters clearly; one was fish-like creature armed with what appeared to be some manner of turbines on its shoulders, no doubt the source of the water it had used to destroy Mobius. The other was a tiger-like creature, surrounded by a ring of fire that raised its attack power by 300 points.

"Yes, the Gladiator Beasts possess devastating effects when summoned from the deck by another Gladiator Beast, but even this is only a prelude to your true opponent; when Gladiator Beast Laquari is on the field, I can return it and two other Gladiator Beasts I control to my deck to summon Gladiator Beast Heraklinos from my Fusion deck!" Laquari the tiger roared out, calling to Murmillo the fish and Secutor the Reptile. Together the three of them charged to the sword at the center of the field, and together they pulled from the stone. A column of fire appeared, and the three gladiator beasts returned to their cells, licking their wounds.

Then the towering Heraklinos appeared, clad in the arms and armor of all its Gladiator Beast comrades, and with four cells broken, four monsters summoned from the deck, Heraklinos's attack power had risen from 3000 to 3400. The mightiest of lions roared, quickly grabbing up the manica and halbred that had been left behind and tossed them back to Shinji. "Furthermore, when the gladiator beasts that these cards are equipped to return to my deck, they are added back to my hand instead of going to the grave."

"I see, that's indeed impressive, but I'm already prepared for that; trap card activate, King's Cause; when my opponent controls a monster during the end phase and I don't, I can special summon a monarch token and add a Monarch from my deck to my hand." But just as the trap's effect began to activate, Heraklinos retrieved the halbred and destroyed the trap with it.

"Wrong; by Heraklinos's effect, I can discard one card from my hand to negate the activation of a trap card you control. Now, it's your turn again, Edo."

"Very well. Unfortunately, your monster is but the stepping stone for the arrival of a new king; I activate Soul Exchange, allowing me to use your Heraklinos as the sacrifice for a monster summon…!" This time it was the Manica that Heraklinos used to negate Edo's card.

"That's right Edo; Heraklinos's effect can also be used to negate spell cards too." Shinji took a moment to stretch out his hand, observing how steady it was. "No doubt you were thinking that your deck was ideally suited for battle against mine. But now without spells or traps to retrieve the sacrifices you need for your Monarchs, you can see how pitiful your oppressors are compared to those who've clawed their way from their imprisonment and seized freedom for themselves!"

"Oppressors?" Edo looked down at his deck, at the deck his parents had created for him; he had always thought of it as the means to guidance, as a protector of the common man. He had thought that it had shown him the truth in his duels against Maria Croix and Takuma Saiou. But now…no, the duel had yet to end. "I'm the one who's acted in the interests of everyone for the sake of true Justice, so don't think that mere power wielded in anger can affect me. I end my turn."

"Really? That's very confident of you." Shinji drew his next card. "It would seem that your defeat will be delayed. Now, bear this upon your shoulders, the weight of all the suffering you've ignored in the name of your justice, of the cries for freedom by those who are still trapped in madness! Gladiator Beast Heraklinos, attack directly!" Heraklinos roared, and swung its great battle axe with both hands, cleaving Edo from his right shoulder down into the left side of his hip. For a moment Edo was nearly overwhelmed by visceral sensation generated by the Solid Vision system, and in the end he was brought down to his knees. "So, are you still so ready to dismiss my cause as the byproduct of madness or anger? Can you still deny that your sense of mercy overrode your sense of justice?"

"Mercy…Justice…" Edo Phoenix slowly brought himself back to his feet. "They often do seem at odds with one another." He remembered his struggle to seek justice for Maria Croix. "But the truth is that no one can see all ends; not even my friend Takuma could all the consequences of his actions, and how they led to the downfall of his dream. So to deny redemption, to deny the hopes of those who seek to repair their own mistakes, to meet suffering with more suffering, I can safely say that you've fallen short of your own professed ideals!" Edo drew the next card from his deck and felt a familiar warmth from it. "I summon Devoted Faithful One in defense mode, and end my turn."

"That monster? For you to draw it now…no, even if your parents should smile upon your actions, I know in my heart that my family demands better! I summon Gladiator Beast Samnite and attack!" The white tiger attacked first, its gladius burying itself in Devoted Faithful One's stomach. But as it fell, the two new tokens appeared, and Heraklinos could only destroy one of them. "But now, at the end of the Battle Phase, I can return Samnite to my deck and special summon Murmillo in defense mode, activating its effect to destroy your final token!" It was just as Shinji said, and in mere moments Edo's field was empty once more. "Now I'll set this card, and end my turn."

"Now who's being overconfident?" Still, he knew full well how dire his situation was. Even so… "Thank you mother, father." Edo whispered to himself. He drew his next card, and saw the path of his victory. "By returning Mobius and Devoted Faithful One in my grave to my deck, I special summon Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden God from my hand!" The crash of thunder, the clatter of breaking chains, the very earth itself being torn apart in the wake off that mighty monster as it formed into beinng. "And then I sacrifice this god to summon Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, whose effect allows me to destroy your Gladiator Beast Heraklinos!" The king of thunder strode forward and brought down a huge column of lightning upon it. "And now I'll activate…what the?!" Edo stared in shock at the sight of Heraklinos standing atop some manner of chariot, seemingly unharmed.

"Unfortunately Edo, when I control a Gladiator Beast, I can activate Gladiator Beast War Chariot; with it, I can negate a monster's effect and then destroy it." Heraklinos rode forward, grinding Zaborg into the ground.

"No…" His Royal March, which would have destroyed Murmillo and allowed him to attack directly, was useless without Zaborg on the field.

"Now you see it, Edo; you are no representative of justice, and Takuma Saiou and his sister Mizuchi, they are not worthy of your mercy. Heraklinos, finish this!" Heraklinos leaped off of the now ruined chariot and attacked Edo directly, slamming him into the opposite wall. Shinji then stepped forward and put his hand out to Edo. "Remember Edo; you are only my enemy so long as you protect them. Join me, and when the time comes we can seek true justice against the Saiou siblings for all the damage they've wrought with their reckless works throughout the world."

Edo knocked Shinji's hand out of the way. "Then we're going to be enemies for a very long time; I've fought too hard for the sake of my dearest friend, to let one skirmish sway me now."

"Hmph." Shinji then turned to Takuma Saiou, who could only stare in shock at the outcome of the duel. "Remember; for now I will simply not attend your class, but the time will come when I can remove you and your sister from this hallowed institution, and at that time True Justice will be had." Shinji then marched off in the direction of Head Nurse Ayukawa's office.

* * *

"…and after that, Edo went to the next class like nothing happened." Rei said, her hands clutched in her lap. "That's why I need your help, Emi; he won't even admit how shook up that duel made him."

"Hmm…" Emi Ayukawa then reviewed her notes. "Yes, Shinji Kato did come in to have his prescription refilled at about the time you said he left for this office. He didn't mention anything about any sort of duel, or about his vendetta against Professor Saiou." She sighed. "It's definitely a difficult issue, because the truth is that both of them are right in their own way; Edo is closer to Takuma and Mizuchi, so he sought justice for them, while Shinji is closer to his own family, so he seeks justice for them. The only advice I can offer you Rei, is patience; the truth is that there is still a lot we don't know, and attempting to rush things of such weight can have devastating consequences."

"I see…well, thank you for hearing me out, Emi." Rei said with a bow as she stood up. "You don't mind if I come to you again if something else comes up, right?"

"Of course Rei; my job is to be here for all the students." Emi Ayukawa watched Rei leave, and then brought up a file on her computer, Shinji Kato's profile as provided by Amon Garam.

"Now, Mr. Amon Garam, how on earth did you find this one?" She then began to compose an email to Seto Kaiba; hopefully this would prove to be a key piece of evidence in his investigation into Amon Garam.

* * *

"You see Echo? Simply bring them all to the same place, and over time they will inevitably battle." Amon Garam said to Echo across the table as they ate their dinner within the dining room of their private cabin, constructed specifically for them away from the main body of Duel Academia; one of the terms of his providing the necessary donations to Duel Academia. "It is the very nature of these duelists, and that very nature will bring about the success of our plan without our having to do anything." He watched Echo take a sip of her wine; to him, her silence spoke volumes. "Cogito Ergo Sum; by knowing their hearts as we know our own, we will obtain the key together, and become true sovereigns, side by side." He laughed a little at the thought of it all, at the sheer absurdity of playing out this role in that man's narrative, and yet there was a simple joy to it. "Echo, do you look forward to it, to your battle?"

Echo looked into Amon's eyes, a precise and cutting glare.

"I see; then I shall look forward it as well, your battle against Asuka Tenjouin."


	3. Chapter 3

Dissent, Critical Daiki Kobayashi

Shou Marufuji left the Ra Yellow dorm with a confident swagger in his step; he'd just emerged victorious in a duel against two fellow third-year duelists, Akira Higa and Chinatsu Oshiro, at the same time!

"Man," Akira said in the immediate aftermath of the duel, his Doom Dozer destroyed by Shou's Endymion, "I don't think I've ever seen anyone duel like that!"

"Yeah," Chinatsu said as she retrieved her Anata the Wicked Serpent from the grave, destroyed by Shou's Magical Dimension, which had brought out Endymion in the first place. "I mean, you could probably count on the fingers of a blind butcher the number of duelists who did what you just did."

"And one of those people," Shou said to himself as he approached the lake, "is my big sister, the Kaiser Ryoko." He paused as he reached the bank of the water, looking at how it all seemed to shine in the bright sunlight. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get this far, Kaiser Ryoko, but when you come back, I'll be proudly wearing the Obelisk Blue."

"Is the color of your uniform really such a big deal?" Shou turned around and saw a first year Ra Yellow boy with a thin sharp face, his black hair radiating out from his head in an untamed fashion.

"Aren't you…aren't you one of the students Amon Garam sponsored?" Shou watched as the first-year Ra Yellow boy took a seat by the bank, looking out over the water.

"I am, but I don't feel like talking about him right now. My name's Daiki Kobayashi by the way." He had a very even voice, Shou thought to himself; there didn't seem to be that undercurrent of anger and resentment that Emi Tanaka and Shinji Kato seemed to possess. While still wary, Shou decided to try and trust Daiki. Who knew, maybe this would prove the key to preventing another dangerous battle like the ones over the last two years.

"I'm Shou Marufuji." Shou took a seat next to Daiki. "So, you've experienced a full week here at Duel Academia; how've you found it?"

"For the most part, I really like it here; It's definitely very different from the last school I attended, and not just because of the focus on the 'children's card game'." He said with a mirthful chuckle. "It's the whole dorm set-up that Seto Kaiba's got going on here. You know, I took a little time to review the records of the Battle City tournament, and the Sun God Ra should actually be the top dorm, with Osiris Red and Obelisk Blue on equal standing with one another."

"Really?" Shou paused, remembering the duels that he read about from Battle City. "I guess you have a point there, but then again The God Soldier of the Obelisk was Seto's god card in the tournament, so it makes sense he would have his card be the mark of the top dorm."

"And since Yuugi was his bitter rival who he never managed to defeat, he naturally dropped Osiris Red to the bottom. But why bother with all that? I mean, with Judai over in Osiris Red, Asuka in Obelisk Blue, and you over in Ra Yellow, you can't really say that one dorm is stronger than the other, can you?" Daiki took a handful of sand and let it sift through his fingers. "And yet, because of Seto's say-so, there are still lots of duelists out there and around here who still give credence to the arbitrary three-tiered structure of Duel Academia. This has brought about needless and wasteful duels that dilute the true pride of the duelist."

"Daiki, you sound like you've been thinking about this for a while now." Shou said as he looked across at his new friend.

"You saw the way Amon Garam used the prestige of the Obelisk Blue dorm to manipulate Professor Chronos; you saw the kind of duel Emi Tanaka had, all because she thought that Professor Chronos didn't fit her idea of the head of Obelisk Blue."

"I, I guess you have a point there. But it sure seemed like Emi had some deep seated issues going in, before the Obelisk Blue wager was made."

"You might be right Shou; truth be told, I haven't really spoken much to the others that Amon sponsored; he had us practice and prepare separately, and only called us all together when it came time to apply for Duel Academia. But even so, the Obelisk Blue issue definitely exacerbated Emi's issues. As it did with your sister."

"Excuse me?" Shou stood up, looking down at his… "What makes you think you can say something like that?"

Daiki stood up in turn, standing over Shou by a fair margin. "I'm only speaking honestly from everything that I've managed to learn about the elite duelists of Duel Academia, and this has given me every confidence that if not for the meaningless hierarchy of the dorms, your sister would not have nearly suffered the burden that she did as the elite of the elite."

"My sister has spent all the past year battling her inner demons, and I've been dueling, trying to be the duelist that she can be proud of. Maybe there are problems with the system, but I won't stand for it if you keep insulting everything my sister believed in!"

"Look at yourself; you've become completely irrational, all become of a dorm system that even you acknowledge doesn't make sense." Daiki then retrieved his duel disc from out of his backpack and put it on. "Let's find out then, who's conviction is stronger; your selfish pride-filled ambition, or my dissent against the obsolete elitism?"

"You're on!" Shou said, not even believing that he'd been willing to give this guy the benefit of the doubt.

* * *

"Professor Takuma, Professor Mizuchi, I've become concerned about the lackluster attendance in your classes this week." Principal Samejima said, having summoned the heads of the Osiris Red dorm to her office. The two of them looked to one another, and Mizuchi spoke first.

"I apologize for our conduct, Principal Samejima; we'd underestimated the difficulty of the path that Edo had offered us, and we promise that this will not be an issue for you to deal with."

"Now wait a second." Principle Samejima said, her firm yet welcoming. "It is all well and good for you to strive to accept responsibility, but I was hoping that we could discuss just what has been happening and why. Emi Ayukawa mentioned to me that Shinji Kato was the first to refuse attendance?"

"Yes, that, that is true." Takuma said, his voice halting and uncertain. Even now, there was the small part of him that still yearned for his lost power of prescience. "It seems that our actions last year, their consequences were far further reaching then we'd suspected; according to Shinji Kato, he was the only member of his family to remain functional in society. As such, he still holds a terrible grudge against us."

"I see." Principal Samejima said with a sigh. "I've tried to speak with the boy myself, but Amon Garam has consistently rebuked me, claiming that while he will rely on us to supply electricity, food, and medicine…he says that he has his own therapists to draw upon for the needs of 'his' students."

"Don't we have anything we can use yet to advance against him?" Mizuchi said, putting her hands down on Sameijima's desk. "It's obvious already that Amon Garam has ill intentions towards this institution, so why not strike before he's had the chance to put his plan into motion?"

"I wish we could, Mizuchi; unfortunately, I have the larger future of Duel Academia to worry about, and until our budget problems can be solved without Amon Garam's donations, then we will have no choice but to play along with his game. But so long as we are alert, and so long as we are willing to give the chance to any duelist who comes to us for our help, then I am confident that we can emerge victorious, as we have two years in a row."

"…Thank you, for your time Principal Samejima." Takuma Saiou bowed before her. "My sister and I, we will speak with Edo, and hopefully we will be able to resolve this problem before it becomes insurmountable." With that, the Saiou siblings departed Principle Samejima's office.

"I wonder if it will ever get easier? Samejima said, pulling out an old bottle of wine from beneath her desk. "Sometimes it's the little indulgences that help make all the difference."

* * *

"So, are you ready yet, Daiki Kobayashi?" Shou Marufuji said, eager to show this disrespectful fool who he was dealing with.

"Of course, and I'll take the first turn and summon my Wolf to the field in attack mode." The howl of the beast, it was exactly what it sounded like, shaggy grey fur and sharp claws, attentive eyes and twitching ears, and 1200 attack points. "Next, I play the Field Spell card Inconstant Moon." Pitch black darkness enveloped the field, then a thin sliver of silver light shined down. Shou looked up, and saw the thin crescent moon above. "With this card in play, 'wolf' monsters I control can attack twice per battle phase, but the battle damage is reduced by half when I use this effect. Now I'll set three cards to end my turn."

"My turn!" Regardless of whatever traps awaited him, Shou knew he had to get rid of that field spell card first; Professor Chronos and Edo didn't, and look how their duels turned out! "I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior, and when he's summoned I can add a Spell Counter to him, raising his attack power by three hundred points, but more importantly, I can remove that Spell Counter from him to destroy your field spell card!" Breaker, clad in red armor, raised his green sword, and flash of lighting crashed from the heavens; drawn down by the sword, Breaker focused all that energy and swung the sword, slicing the Inconstant Moon in half, destroying it and bringing back the day.

"But before I attack, I activate the Permanent Spell Card Arcane Barrier." Behind Shou stood the statue of a mighty wizard, and the circle of runes that floated about it. "And now I'll attack your Wolf with Breaker!" The magic swordsman was swift and efficient, cutting along the Wolf's stomach for 400 points of damage.

"And now you've activated them, the chain of traps that will see you to your defeat." As Daiki spoke, tall blades of grass sprouted all around the duelists, and the rustling sounds coming from them hinted at hidden animals. "The trap card Animal Trail allows me to add a Beast type monster to my hand when a Beast I control is destroyed." A wolf with a clean white coat leaped out of the grass, vanishing as it approached Daiki's hand. "Next, I activate the permanent trap card Broken Blade; when I take damage in a battle involving a Beast monster I control, I can reveal a beast monster in my hand and reduce your monster's attack power by that monster's attack power. Thus, I show you another Wolf in my hand." Spiritual fangs struck without mercy, shattering Breakers sword and armor, leaving him with only 400 attack points. "And now, my final trap, Call of the Pack." The wolf with the sleek white coat leaped out of Daiki's hand and pounced upon Breaker, savagely mauling it. "With this, I can special summon a Beast monster from my hand and force your monster to battle it." As the eight hundred points of damage settled in, Shou watched as the Arcane Barrier started gathering the residual energy left behind from Breaker. But suddenly, a frozen wind cracked the energy, breaking it.

"That would be the effect of my Arctic Wolf; when it does battle damage to you, you can't activate the effects of your spell cards until my next standby phase." As the frozen wind settled in, the statue that generated the Arcane Barrier formed tiny frozen cracks all over itself. "Each piece, each step builds on the one before it; there is no stronger nor weaker, there is only the community of the pack, the united will that can defeat the poisonous hierarchy that infects this otherwise upstanding institution."

"…Look, maybe it isn't perfect, but that's still no reason to insult it like that! I have to reach the top, so that I can know I can look my sister in the eye, and I won't stand by while you mock us both! I set one card, and end my turn!"

"Hmph, I've only had a week to study, but it already looks like history is set to repeat itself."

"What do you mean?"

"Look at you; you're already set on the path of building yourself up to an impossible, artificial standard; it left your sister vulnerable to madness and Darkness, and it left you slim pickings for the Light. As far as I'm concerned, this duel has confirmed my hypothesis; I will see to it that all the dorms are eliminated, so that no one will be made to suffer again in the name of a false idol named 'hierarchy'."

"Is that so? Well, the moment your turn begins I activate my trap card Pitch Black Power Stone, placing three spell counters on it."

"But the key is being able to transfer those counters onto another card, and with Mountain Wolf, that will never happen." Daiki Kobayashi summoned his latest wolf, a creature with a thin grey coat and prominent claws, a firm tail to help maintain balance. But like the two preceding wolfs, this one also possessed exactly 1200 attack points. "Attack my pack, and show this elitist your unified strength!" Arctic Wolf bit into Shou's leg, while Mountain Wolf leaped onto his shoulder and dug in deep, together dealing 2400 points of damage.

As the two wolves returned to Daiki, thick crags of rock in the shapes of fangs surrounded Shou's Pitch Black Power Stone, while the ice gathered once more on the Arcane Barrier. "Arctic Wolf's damage seals your spell cards, while Mountain Wolf's damage seals your trap card in the same fashion; with nothing to support you, you have no chance of breaking past this united front. I end my turn."

Shou drew his next card and looked over his hand; normally he'd summon Dark Valkyria, but with Broken Blade on the field she'd be crippled on the next turn and he wouldn't get the chance to recover; even if he didn't attack, Daiki would just suicide his own wolf to trigger the trap, allowing him to attack and deny him spell cards again. But he had monster that could buy him the time he needed. "I summon Apprentice Magician in defense mode, and with his effect I add one spell counter to Arcane Barrier, and this monster effect isn't blocked." The circle of runes began to glow, to rotate. "That's my turn."

"A meager stall tactic, one that pales in compare to the might of Desert Wolf!" Brown fur stained with sand, a thick hide that retained all water, Desert Wolf had 1200 attack points as well. "Now you will witness their true strength; by Desert Wolf's effect, every time I destroy one of your monsters in battle, my wolves gain four hundred attack points; the truly strong don't try to elevate themselves above their, they raise their peers to themselves, something your sister was alleged to have wanted. Now you'll see what it really looks like! Attack, Desert Wolf!" Desert Wolf tore Apprentice Magician apart and feasted upon the remains. But Apprentice Magican's power called out to Shou's deck, and a new spell caster was set on the field. Arctic Wolf tore into the second Arcane Apprentice to no effect, and Mountain Wolf repeated this act against the third one, a final monster now set on Shou's field. But still, with Desert Wolves power shared with its peers, all three wolves now possessed 2400 attack points. "Since no damage was done this turn, this means you'll have one chance to activate your spells and your traps, but even if you do manage to get out a monster strong enough to face this pack, your blade will be broken all the same. I end my turn."

"My turn!" Shou paused to contemplate his strategy; he needed to do more then just win, he had to show Daiki what it really was that he was trying to accomplish in reaching Obelisk Blue. It might have been vain or arrogant, but he would hold to his believes and dreams. "First, I flip my face-down Crystal Seer, activating its effect; I pick up the top two cards of my deck and add one to my hand while sending the other to the bottom of my deck. Next I activate the effect of Pitch Black Power Stone and transfer one spell counter from it to Arcane Barrier. Next I activate Spell Power Grasp, adding a spell counter to Arcane Barrier and adding another Spell Power Grasp from my deck to my hand, but I can't activate the second one this turn. But now I activate Symbol of Heritage; since I have three Arcane Apprentices in the grave, I can special summon one of them to the field, and with Arcane Apprentice's effect I add a fourth spell counter to Arcane Barrier."

The runic circle was glowing bright, spinning fiercely. "Now I can activate Arcane Barrier's effect, sending it and Crystal Seer to the grave to draw four cards. "And now I summon the monster that my sister, the sister I've always admired no matter what, entrusted to me, Maha Vailo!" A woman dressed in an ornate blue robe appeared on the field. "First, I equip Maha Vailo with Shooting Star Bow Ceal; it reduces my monster's attack power by one thousand points but grants it the ability to attack directly. Next, I equip Maha Vailo with Mage Power, raising Maha Vailo's attack power by five hundred points for every spell or trap card I control, and then I set one more card in my spell/trap zone, raising Maha Vailo's attack power by twenty five hundred points."

Maha Vailo's attack power rose considerably, and it focused that power into the bow, the arrow a living shaft of starlight. "Furthermore, for every card equipped to Maha Vailo, she gains five hundred attack points, raising her attack power another one thousand points, which means she can attack you directly for four thousand and fifty points of damage!"

"What!" Daiki shouted in absolute shock; Shou had managed to bypass his monsters completely, rendering their united strength irrelevant.

"Maha Vailo, attack directly!" Maha Vailo's arrow traversed the distance at the speed of light, impacting Daiki right in the chest, wiping away all his life points in an instant. He watched his monsters vanished, their strength moot. Shou walked up to him.

"You want to gloat, don't you? I bet you think of this as just another notch to confirm your superiority, don't you?"

"No, I don't; I saw your strength, and while I don't appreciate the tone you took, I do get what it is you're concerned about. I hate to admit it, but you were at the least partially right; my sister and I, we both feared being seen as weak. But I still think of Obelisk Blue as an ideal to aim for, not as a prison or a poison or whatever else you want to call it. So for now at least, can we agree to disagree, and try to duel on friendlier terms next time?"

Daiki gave pause as he looked up at Shou. He thought about it, about the insinuations that Amon Garam had made to him, suggesting a deeper purpose towards their presence at Duel Academia. He thought about it, and wondered if there might not be an even deeper purpose beyond that?

"All right Shou; for now at least, I'll give the dorm hierarchy a chance, and see for myself whether it is an inspiration, or a disease." He reached out to Shou, and Shou reached out in turn.

The two duelists shook hands, and then parted ways.

* * *

"Tell me Junko," Momoe said as she finished putting her uniform back on, "Do you think you're going to try to transfer into Obelisk Blue this year?"

"Hmm…" Junko contemplated for a moment atop the covers of Momoe's soft plush bed. "No, I don't think so; I just, don't you think it would ruin how special these moments are, if we were always together like this?"

"Yeah, I have to admit, we've spent years connected at the hip, and after what happened last year, I think I prefer it this way too." Momoe paused as a memory crossed her mind. "Say, you did remember to bring over those sources I asked you for, right?"

"Of course." Junko reached into her backpack and pulled out the books in question. "Unlike some people, I'm still an academically focused Ra Yellow whose still nice enough to help out the spoiled rotten Obelisk Blue in their time of need." She said with a bit of a snicker.

"And as I'm an Obelisk Blue, I have the grace, dignity, and poise needed to sympathize with the Ra Yellows for all their resentment and ambition." Momoe laughed it up, and before long the two girls were laughing together at the sheer silliness of the Dorm stereotypes.

"Seriously though," Momoe said as she worked out the remnants of her laughter, "Thank you so much; Professor Chronos has really been piling on the homework lately, like he's really trying to prove something."

"I guess that Emi Tanaka bitch really got under his skin." Junko recalled how the two never did stop exchanging barbs, even after the entrance exam duel. "I'll bet her tune's going to be changing before too long, right Momoe?"

"I hope so; that Lightsworn deck of hers looks to be really powerful, and if Amon Garam really does have some plot in mind, I don't want to have to be the one to face her."

The two female duelists were silent. They hugged tightly, and then Junko left once more for the Ra Yellow dorm, making sure not to pass by Emi Tanaka's room.


	4. Chapter 4

Proposition, Mobilizing Takara Yoshida

"Excuse me, are you Momiji Todo?" An energetic female voice called out from behind him. He paused and turned around, seeing one of Amon Garam's 'students' standing there; she was rather tall, wearing an Osiris Red uniform, and there was a…masculine cast to her features, the structure of her face, the broadness of her shoulders. Momiji Todo decided that unless she wanted to bring it up, he would not mention anything about it. "Ah, good; my name is Takara Yoshida, and I have an exciting opportunity that I can say with great certainty you are most likely worthy of." Momiji noted the extensive hedging in Takara's statement, and the considerable energy used for it, and surmised that she was in fact highly nervous.

"I have some time, but you're going to want to make it quick; I'm meeting up with Misawa." Takara clasped her hands together in animated excitement.

"Thank you very much! Now, I'm sure you're aware of the mounting uncertainty of our modern world; Duel Academia's fate is hanging by a thread, and tensions in the outside world have been growing without release. I, following as best I can in the example set by Amon Garam, have decided to take the initiative and form a new organization, one capable of effecting the real change that is needed right now and show everyone the importance of Duel Academia; provisionally, the name of this organization will be 'Amon's Army', but once I have enough members, I'm willing to discuss new names that would better reflect our common purpose." All this, Takara Yoshida said in a single breath.

"I see." Momiji was sure that he'd read a story where a student attempted to start an army in the name of a teacher they admired, but for some reason he couldn't quite bring it to mind. Putting that off to the side, Momiji responded. "It is an interesting notion, but a premature one, I think; while there is tension mounting in the world, there has always been tension, always various conflicts and confusions; I fail to see how this time is so different that it demands such a divisive approach to resolving it."

"Divisive?" Takara said, blinking in apparent confusion. "No, you don't understand, that's what I don't want, and I'm pretty sure that this is what's going to keep that from happening, bringing in as many powerful duelists together under my banner…" Takara paused, looking over Momiji's shoulder. Momiji turned his head, and saw Junko Makita.

"So, I guess I've caught you in the act, Takara Yoshida." Junko had a sour look on her face as she looked past Momiji. Then she turned her attention to him. "You should get out of here; she's going to show her true colors any moment now; she's already done it with all her other 'recruits'."

"Hi Junko!" Takara said in the same excited tone that she'd been using with Momiji. "You know, I was planning on recruiting you after I took care of Momiji and Misawa; got to save the best for last, after all!" Momiji could see it; while Takara was smiling, it never reached her eyes. "So why would you say something mean, like I'm going to 'show my true colors'?"

"Because people have been talking; there are lots of rumors all over campus these days, and the ones about you…well, let's just say that you don't take no for an answer."

"But everyone I've presented with my proposal always accepted it."

"Ah, and would that be before or after you terrified them into submission with your dueling style?"

Momiji, feeling distinctly caught in the middle, stepped out from in between the two women. "As I mentioned before I have to meet up with Misawa soon, so I'll be leaving you two to resolve this on your own." Momiji began to move away, but he felt a powerful hand gripping his shoulder; he looked over, and saw Takara there, with just a sliver of her true expression slipping through her mask of excited joy.

"Momiji, you can't leave just yet; just because Junko here is impatient and given to believing rumors without a shred of substantive evidence to back them up, does that mean you're going to do something irrational and reject what may well be the best decision you'll ever make out of hand?" Momiji could feel a chill passing down the back of his neck, the glint in Takara's eyes like nothing he'd ever seen before; the closest thing in his experience was the Light in Takuma Saiou's eyes, but this was something different, more subtle, more…natural?

"Please…release me, I've no intention of going along with you." Momiji found himself paralyzed somehow, unable to remove Takara's hand from his shoulder. Then Junko stepped forward and forcefully jerked Takara's hand away.

"Like I said Momiji, she was going to show her true colors; get over to Misawa right now." Momiji nodded, rubbing at his shoulder.

"Thank you Junko, I'll be sure to make this up to you later." Momiji then dashed off, Junko holding Takara's arm with considerable effort.

"You know, if you're really that eager to join up with 'Amon's Army', you should have just said so in the first place." Takara said, still refusing to release the smile on her face, still retaining the excited cheer in her voice.

"Sorry, but I've been on the bad end of this sort of plot before; If I can nip it in the bud, all the better for everyone. Hell, you might even be thinking me by the end."

"Is that so? Well, as it so happens, I do have one little test I need to administrate before I can commit to making you one of my soldiers; I need to make sure that you can serve under me and remain useful, so make sure you try your hardest and do a good job in your duel against me."

"That's what it always comes down to around here, isn't it?" Junko said as she finally released Takara's arm. "Fine then, we'll find a nice quiet little spot, and resolve this 'Amon's Army' nonsense before it gets out of hand."

"Okay, but first I need to gather all of my followers, so they can watch as I break down your spirit and rebuild it as a great warrior of 'Amon's Army'."

* * *

"Momiji, are you okay? You seem spooked." Misawa said as he looked up from his desk, watching as Momiji caught his breath.

"I just had a rather…disconcerting encounter with Takara Yoshida." Momiji said as he closed the door behind him, confirming their privacy.

"Takara Yoshida?"

"An Osiris Red girl, one of the students that Amon Garam sponsored. You wouldn't have happened to have heard these rumors about her starting up something she's calling 'Amon's Army'?"

"Hmm," Misawa said as he turned to his friend, intent on putting a calming hand on Momiji's shoulder. But he saw how guarded his friend was, so he refrained from that. "Junko did mention something to me about how she was going to solve a problem before it got started. I suppose that must have been it. Truth be told, I've been a little focused on trying to solve the financial problems here at Duel Academia."

"Really? Aren't you already busy with your own homework?" Momiji said, taking his seat on Misawa's bed; already he was feeling better, calmer and better able to loosen up in the presence of his dear friend.

"Yeah, I haven't been getting much sleep lately, but I keep thinking that I'm about to make an important breakthrough, but at the end of the day that sensation keeps slipping through my fingers. But there's still time, so I'm not too worried." Misawa then put turned off the monitor of his computer and turned in his seat towards Momiji. "Now, what was so disconcerting about Takara Yoshida? I mean, after what's happened over the past two years, I should think it would take a lot to disturb either of us."

"The difference between those events, and this one involving Takara, is that supernatural forces were involved, influencing the participants. I didn't get that sense at all from Takara; near as far as I could tell, her goals, desires, and the methods she would be willing to use to achieve them…they were all natural to her. In examining the fear I felt in that moment, that's what disconcerted me the most; that Amon Garam could find someone like her, using only his wealth and connections. It makes me worry about what he truly has in mind."

"Well, that's what we're all preparing ourselves for, isn't it? When Amon Garam decides to drop the charade and reveal his true colors, we'll strike back decisively." Misawa stood up, walked over to his friend, and patted him on the back. "Now come on, let's work together on that essay for Mizuchi like we said we were going to."

"Sure thing Misawa."

* * *

"Take a look Junko; their's is the illustrious company that you'll be dueling along side in 'Amon's Army'." Takara Yoshida said with a great swelling of pride in her heart. Junko took a look at them; first and second year Osiris Reds, and they all looked too scared to leave. That was the impression that Junko got from the wavering in their eyes, and she decided after this that she was going to have to have a little chat with Judai.

"Is that so? Well, I agree; when I win this duel, you're going to stop bullying and browbeating them into following you and obeying your orders, you got that you little bitch?"

"Well that's an awful rude thing to call someone."

"No more than what you deserve after putting your hand on Momiji's shoulder like that."

"I disagree, but I will accept the terms of your challenge as I take the first turn, most certainly." Takara armed her duel disc and drew her hand. "I summon Number Forty to the field in attack mode." 'Number 40' was a blonde woman wielding a great claymore in one hand as though it were as light as a feather. Her eyes were silver like her armor, which was smoothly folded over the lithe figure of her body. "And now I play my field spell card, Awakening Energy." Tension filled the air, and Number 40 picked up on it quickly; her teeth grew larger, sharper. Her face elongated, forming a muzzle. The veins in her arms and legs grew pronounced as the muscle tissue grew. "With this card on the field, I can discard a card from my hand to keep a 'Number' monster from being destroyed in battle, and raise their attack power by the damage dealt to me, in all likelihood. I set one card, and end my turn."

"I see, unstoppable monsters that just keep getting stronger? I can definitely see how that would intimidate someone else, convince them to fear you as their invincible master. But you know something?" Junko flashed a bright grin at her opponent. "I'm not worried at all; first I discard Hecatrice to add Valhalla Hall of the Gods to my hand, and then I discard Zeradias to add Sanctuary in the Sky to my hand, and I think you know what happens to the field spell card on the field when someone plays a new one, right?" She said in mockery of Takara's overuse of hedging language. She played her two cards, disrupting the energy feeding into Number 40 as the heavenly temple formed on the field, Valhalla's hall now a prominent feature. "And now with Valhalla's effect, I special summon Athena to the field, and with my normal summon, I bring out in defense mode the Agent of Creation Venus!" As the Golden Winged Angel appeared, Athena reflected that holy light of her being off of her shield and into Takara for 600 points of damage. "Furthermore, with Venus's effect I pay fifteen hundred life points and special summon three Mystical Shine Balls from my deck in defense mode, which activates Athena's effect three more times!" Pure souls of light appeared on Junko's side of the field, each delivering a devastating blow to Takara with Athena's power. "And now I activate Athena's effect, sending a Mystical Shine Ball to the grave to bring back Zeradias to the field!" As the great warrior of the sanctuary appeared, Athena activated her final effect one last time, bringing the damage against Takara to a grand total of 3000.

"You know something?" Takara said, cracking her knuckles as she spoke. "I think you're a coward." Her eyes narrowed, her smile faded. "You do all this damage outside of battle, because you don't have what it takes to face a real monster in battle, do you?" She then grabbed her head and jerked it, eliciting a pronounced series of cracks. "I mean, the game is supposed to be 'Duel Monsters', isn't it? So why don't you let our monsters do battle, instead of just spamming one sided effects like that?"

"Sorry, but it'll take more then you've got to get under my skin, Takara." Junko said, unable to avoid a quick trip down the road of her own memories; her duel against The Mirage of Deceit, and her duel against Theodore Beauregard, she'd won both of them with effects outside of battle. "With the army of Angels that I command, I'll have no problem running you over! Athena, attack!" She raised her mighty spear over head, and flew down to attack Number 40.

"And now we will see the likely cause of your cowardice; trap card activate, Will of the Killer!" Number 40 caught Athena's spear in her hand, shattering it effortlessly. She grabbed the fringe of Athena's helmet and pulled her down onto the ground, and then stabbed her through the chest with her great sword. "My trap increases the attack power of my monster by your monster's attack power. And I'll bet this next part will probably catch you by surprise." As Number 40 pulled her sword out the deceased Athena, she whipped it, creating a cutting wave of force that impacted across the chest for 1500 points of damage. "Yep, so long as Will of the Killer is on the field, no effect that would negate battle or prevent battle damage will work, unless you come up with something really out there."

"I see…you don't just dominate with you're approach to dueling, you block off any other approach; no wonder everyone you've 'recruited' is so cowed." Junko winced a bit, the residual effects of the Solid Vision induced pain still lingering. She noticed that Takara, by contrast, seemed to have weathered her damage without issue; seriously, where on earth did Amon Garam find her?

Takara shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say? It seems that power in battle is the one true reliable indication of strength, the very founding cornerstone of 'Amon's Army'."

"…I set one card and end my turn." As Junko did so, she saw Number 40 collapse in on itself before exploding in a terrible fury of organs and muscles as the Will of the Killer consumed it and faded with it.

"Now, there is a downside to Will of the Killer; the monster that has its attack boosted will be destroyed during the end phase, and when Number Forty is destroyed by a card effect, she lets me send Number Thirty from my deck to the grave. And now that its my turn again, I can activate Number Thirty's effect, removing it and Number Forty in the grave from play to summon Number Four from my hand without sacrifice." Like her predecessor, Number 4 was blonde haired woman with silver eyes, wielding a huge sword. But unlike her predecessor, she possessed a distinctly ophidian quality, her limbs limber in a way that hinted at a lack of bones. "And now I'm going to teach you the other lesson that the members of 'Amon's Army' must take to heart; do not overextend yourself, it might bring your downfall." Number 4's arm began to warp, extend, grow huge talons along the length of itself. "With a Number monster on the field, I can activate Blade of the Arm, destroying all your monsters and dealing three hundred points of damage for each one."

"Sorry, but if you wanted to keep this a matter of monsters against monsters, then you're going to have to stick with that! Activate Counter-trap, Dark Bribe!" Number 4's arm returned to its normal state, and Takara drew a new card as her spell was negated and destroyed.

"That's just fine; you see, when Number Four destroys a monster by battle, she automatically deals out five hundred points of damage, so you've got until next turn to destroy my three thousand attack point demon warrior." Number 4 attacked Zeradias with speed that defied the senses; Junko desperately tried to follow the flow of that battle, but Zeradias lost limbs with great alacrity, only perishing as Number 4 consumed its head, looking viciously feral. Then she whipped out with a clawed hand, digging into Junko's heart for five hundred points of damage. "Now I'll set one card, and end my turn."

"Okay…focus Junko." As she breathed in, trying to clear her mind, trying to will her pain away, and then she felt it; the warmth of her Duel Monster spirit, the reflection of her soul, Athena. She felt a sureness of connection, of bond, and she knew in her heart that she would emerge victorious. "First, I sacrifice my two Mystic Shine Balls to summon Neo-Parshath the Sky Paladin, and then I activate my spell card Breaking Dawn; with this, I can destroy one Angel monster I control to destroy one spell or trap you control, and then I recover life points equal to the destroyed monster's attack points. Go, Venus!" The Agent of Creation was converted into pure light and shot itself into Takara's trap before it could be activated in battle. Then the light returned and shot itself into Junko, restoring her energy. "And now I have twenty-one hundred life points to your one thousand, and with Sanctuary in the Sky still on the field, that raises Neo-Parshath's attack power to thirty-four hundred, well more then enough to defeat Number Four." And indeed, with a great rush of power, Neo-Parshath bisected Number 4 for 400 points of damage.

"What, what was that?" Takara said, her eyes now reflecting a curiosity and ambition that was again disconcerting in its own way. "Just as you drew your card this turn, something about your countenance changed, became more than human. Did you do it on purpose, or was it just a happenstance coincidence? Was it the alignment of your soul with your deck, that you and the rest of your cadre of friends are supposed to possess, as the rumors and murmurs suggest?"

"You noticed?" Junko was honestly surprised; that sensation had felt so immediately spiritual, that she wouldn't have figured someone like Takara to have picked up on it. "As though I would share such a personal truth with the likes of you, and in any event, because Neo-Parshath did battle-damage, I can draw one card. I end my turn."

"Hmm," Takara said, stroking her chin before drawing her next card, "I've definitely made an error; this is the first time anyone I've dueled has had this sort of reaction. I even took the time to observe Judai dueling over the past few days, but he never showed any hint of it, no matter how low his life points got. You know what I think, what my theory is? I think I'm the key to unlocking your true power, the power that sleeps within your soul which can change this world, bringing peace to chaos. Therefore, you will not be fighting alongside the common soldiers, you will be my Lieutenant, and together we will be glorious heroes of the future!"

"That's only if you win, Takara!" Junko felt an infectious energy filling her as she spoke. "You're not the first to come to Duel Academia with that kind of thinking, and you'll probably not be the last, but let me assure you, as someone who's experienced being on both sides of this sort of madness, there's no way, natural or otherwise, that you'll be able to get me to join in some mad campaign like that."

"If you say so, Junko, but I think I might have a good idea of the source of your excitement just now." She said as she summoned Number 20, a woman with a slightly more muscular build then the other monsters she'd summoned. "You're grasping that power within you, and you know it needs to be used, that it would in all likelihood be grossly irresponsible of you to squander the unique opportunities it affords you, and there's in all likelihood the part of your soul that recognizes that at the least I'm on the right track. Well, what do you think, Third Year Ra Yellow Junko Makita?"

"…I think you're full of it." Despite herself, Junko could not bring all of herself behind her words. This concerned her, but she refused to let it distract her from her impending victory.

"All right, break through my monster, show me I'm wrong."

"Sorry, but I don't have to; you see, I'm going to sacrifice my Neo-Parshath to summon Agent of Judgment Saturn, and with Sanctuary in the Sky on the field, Saturn can be sacrificed to deal damage to you equal to the difference between our life points." The purple angel wrapped itself in its purple wings, and became as a spear as it launched directly into Takara for 1500 points of damage, ending the duel. Surprisingly enough, Takara was knocked clean off her feat, falling rather still…

"Woah…" One of the Osiris Red students said in awe.

"Thanks Miss Makita, we promise we'll defend ourselves better next time, honest!"

"Yeah, once you see the trick, this Takara isn't so tough after all."

"We'll be sure to make all this up to you, honest!"

With their words expressed, the students departed, leaving Junko alone with Takara.

"Next time…" Takara said as she flipped back to her feet, one eye closed but the other possessing a terrible piercing quality, "Make sure to channel that power into my monster instead of me, or else this battle of ours won't resolve; only a proper duel, with a proper victory on your part, could hope to convince me that you are the true victor and heir to the spoils of battle." Takara then brushed herself off and turned away. "In any event, for now I'll hold off on the 'Amon's Army' stuff, but remember what I said; it will come up again, that I can say with no doubt or hedging at all." And with that she walked away.

"What a strange duelist." Junko said to herself, taking a look at her Athena card. "Emi, Shinji, Daiki, and now Takara. I wonder which one will be next, who they'll challenge, and why?" With too much uncertainty, and no clear path with which to rush results, Junko Makita began to make her way back to the Ra Yellow dorm.

* * *

"Hey guys, its been a while since I saw you all!" Judai Yuki said as he saw group of first year Osiris Red students approaching the dorm from the opposite direction. "I'd have invited you all down to the beach with me, the water was really great…" He watched as they waved him off, looking more exhausted then exasperated. As the last one filed into the dorm, he saw Takara Yoshida approaching from around the corner.

"You're going to want to be careful, Judai." She said as she made her way to the door. "Junko looks like she's going to be a rising star, so you could end up being left behind. But then again, the odds on that could be pretty low, now that I've warned you. Boy, this all sure is complicated, but I know that I can repay Amon Garam for the favor he did me." It was only as she walked through the door that Judai realized she wasn't actually talking to him, merely at him, like she was thinking out loud or something like that.

"Boy, I wonder what a duel with her would be like?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Takara Yoshida's deck is loosely based on the Manga of Claymore. Claymore is owned by Yagi Norihiro, Viz, and Jump Square.


	5. Chapter 5

Mine, Selfish Yuuto Inoue

"Asuka, could I talk to you for a moment?" Professor Hibiki said, just as Asuka and Judai were about to leave for lunch.

"Sure thing Professor Hibiki. Judai, could you go ahead and pick up my lunch for me?"

"Sure thing Asuka!" Judai paused for a moment, wondering what Professor Hibiki would want to talk about with Asuka without him there, but he shrugged his shoulders and moved on.

"Asuka, when was the last time that you heard back from your brother?"

Asuka already suspected why Professor Hibiki was asking this question, but she would exercise prudence. "I got a letter from him at the start of the year, and I'm expecting another one from him in another couple of weeks." Had it really only been two weeks since the start of the year? Time waited for no one, Asuka thought to herself. "He said that he and Ryoko are still at the monastery, and that Ryoko's making excellent progress; she seems open to visiting Duel Academia some time this year."

"Really? That's very good, because I want you to ask your brother to do what he can to get Ryoko here as quickly as possible." Professor Hibiki sighed, already seeing the response forming on Asuka's face.

"Professor Hibiki, while I do agree that having the 'Fubuking' and the 'Kaiser Ryoko' here would be very good for Duel Academia, and while I would like to be able to see my brother again soon, and I know Shou is eager to see his sister again, but…I really don't think that trying to force them back for our needs will help us or them."

"…Listen carefully Asuka; there's a very good reason I didn't want Judai here for this." She took a quick look at the clock, and saw that she had enough time. "For some time now, I've been having nightmares; vivid experiences of me being torn away from Duel Academia, and watching Judai cry out in terror, helpless. Rationally, I know its nonsensical to worry so much about a mere dream, even a recurring dream, but this is Duel Academia; irrational things like dreams have a power here."

"…That's very true." Asuka remembered back in her first year, when Fubuki appeared in her dream, desperately trying to warn her about the danger Judai was going to be in. And how Judai's dream had been invaded by The Terror of Death, in order to draw him into his trap. "Do you think someone is deliberately making you have these dreams, to warn you, or to manipulate you?"

"It's hard to say; but either way, I know that I would feel more secure if we had all our friends and allies together before anything happened."

"Well, I'll let Fubuki know about your concerns; you were his favorite teacher after all." Asuka and Midori laughed for a little bit, the memories of brighter and simpler times reflecting before them.

"Thank you Asuka, and remember, please don't let Judai find out; you know how he worries about me."

Asuka bowed and said goodbye, and made her way to Judai; he had saved her seat, and had her tray with all her favorites all ready for her, including the rare Golden Egg Bread. "Hey Asuka it was a good thing you sent me out when you did." He pointed at the Golden Egg Bread. "That was the last one left at the cafeteria!"

He said this with such a simple, innocent smile that had belied the turmoil and tribulation that they'd all been through. Asuka thought to herself that he was a great friend, a great boyfriend, and a wonderful little brother to Midori, and she would make sure that he would have nothing to worry about this year.

"Thank you very much Judai, I'll be sure to make it up to you later."

* * *

"…What is happening?" Momiji Todo said as he placed his hand against the bark of the tree. "There is…there is an energy here, moving somewhere else. Where?" He had gone out on this walk in order to relax, to escape however briefly from the tension that continued to increase at Duel Academia, to breathe fresh air without worry. But now, now he had stumbled upon something, the significance of which he was determined to ascertain. He felt a beetle crawl onto the back of his hand, and he watched it, observed the energy with which it moved and observed all the world around it. It then flew away, and Momiji followed it at a casual pace, and with the passage of time the beetle seemed to slow done, become lazy in its flight. Even so, it reached its destination, a particularly large and thick looking tree; it loomed over the others in the vicinity as though it were the World Tree, and on the other side, was the sound of someone digging. Momiji traversed the considerable circumference of the tree, and on the other side he saw a first year Osiris Red student, another one of Amon's.

"Very interesting indeed." The boy muttered to himself as he shuffled through a Duel Monsters deck; he was short and pale, as though he'd hardly spent any time outdoors prior to this time. "The conversion rate is only at four percent, but there would seem to be no barriers to drawing out a far greater portion of this power."

"What power would that be?" Momiji said as he stepped forward, drawing the boy's attention to himself.

"…Oh, you're Momiji Todo; I remember hearing about Takara trying to recruit you for 'Amon's Army'." He stuck his hand out in offering. "I'd like you to know that I neither condone nor associate myself with her actions, or the actions of the others that Amon sponsored here, and I'd like it if we could judge each other on the basis of our individual merits and flaws. My name is Yuuto Inoue."

Momiji looked down at Yuuto's hand; there were numerous ink stains on his fingertips. He took it, shook, and let go. None of the ink made it onto his own hands. Old stains? "I am curious as to why you are out here; it must be important to you."

He smiled and chuckled a bit. "Well, Duel Academia first issued my Duel Disc to me, I took a quick look at it to make sure that it performed according to its specifications, and I noticed an odd peculiarity in the Solid Vision-Deck interface. It took me all of last week to confirm that the location of the Duel Disc had an almost negligible effect, but one that I suspected could be increased if I found the right location." Yuuto put his hand to the great tree that he and Momiji stood under. "This spot, this tree, provides the strongest reaction that I've managed to observe, and I know with time that I'll be able to draw on more of this power." Yuuto took his hand away from the tree, and Momiji saw some manner of receiver attached to the bark.

"So that's the unusual sensation that I felt out in the forest." Momiji turned his eyes to the beetle, noticing how lethargic it seemed. "While it is interesting that you seem to have stumbled upon a method of drawing upon natural, living energy, I'm going to have to insist that you stop; you've already begun to have an impact on this ecosystem, and with everything that is already about to happen, this strikes me as one more thing to deal with early, rather then later."

"…That seems an irrational attitude. First of all, 'everything that is already about to happen'? I know that your friends and the faculty are convinced that Amon Garam is plotting something, but surely that's just resentment over the fact that you're now dependent on his generosity, isn't it? But they don't want to admit to it, so they've concocted this vague plot where he's supposed to be an evil villain for…what reason?"

"While I will concede that Amon's motive and objective in all this is unknown to us, the fact of the matter is that we can recognize patterns; Daitokuji in the first year, Takuma Saiou in the second year, and now Amon Garam. We would be fools to ignore that, and that's even before the issue of Takuma's final prophecy last year." Momiji remembered it well, that some unknown power had singled out Judai and Asuka to use them at a later date in fulfillment of its ambitions. Amon Garam had yet to show any particular interest in Judai or Asuka, but it was only a matter of time.

"…Huh, I hadn't heard about that last detail. But considering how much he and his sister got wrong in the end, and how neither of them possess their much reputed powers anymore, I don't see any good reason to worry about that detail. And in any event, there's a more immediate issue to attend to, your objection to my experiments; what 'impact' could you possibly be referring to?"

Momiji pointed to the beetle, which was just barely clinging to one of the lower branches of the tree. "That insect has come dangerously close to losing all its energy. The damage you could cause with these experiments of yours, could prove extensive and irreversible."

"Irreversible? But of course they are; once progress is achieved, any effort to deny it, refuse it, or reverse it is doomed to failure. You should really study your history, or at least the history that goes back further than two years at any rate. And who knows? Maybe if I develop this far enough, I can present it as an alternative method to supporting Duel Academia, thus resolving the financial and freeing you from your worries about Amon Garam. So truly, it really is in your best interest to help me with this; you can even try to find ways to minimize your…side effects, if you like."

"Unfortunately, even though I no longer possess the powers I once did, I still possess an intuitive understanding of the living nature of our Earth, and accordingly I will not allow your cavalier dismissal of these concerns go unanswered." Momiji then armed his duel disc. "I will show you that your exploitive power can't overcome the harmony of the Earth."

"A field test? It's a bit early, but if the results prove promising, it will only bolster my resolve." As Yuuto armed his duel disc, he tapped on the receiver that he'd planted onto the tree, adjusting it with a flick of the wrist. "I'll let you take the first turn, Momiji."

"Very well; I summon Evil Thorn and activate its effect, sacrificing it to deal three hundred points of damage and special summoning two more from my deck in attack mode, sans their effects." A barbed plant with a grenade-like bulb appeared; it exploded itself upon Yuuto, and the remnants it left behind served as fuel for two more samples of itself. "Now I set two cards, and end my turn."

"Is that all? I was rather expecting something more then a mere three hundred points of damage and two trash monsters left in attack mode. Maybe your traps are where your true power lies?" There was a visceral energy to Yuuto's words, an anticipatory excitement behind his declarations.

"That's quite the attitude for someone of your station to be exhibiting." Momiji said as he looked upon his opponent, First Year Osiris Red.

"It's not the station that matters, Momiji, it's the ambition; witness mine as I summon Shuttleroid to the field in attack mode!" It was a rather cartoony looking machine, a shuttlecraft like the sort that NASA or JAXA would build, except for the wide open eyes that seemed to have been stuck on like stickers, and the it seemed to bend like it was made of rubber. "I'll have my monster attack your Evil Thorn for seven hundred points of damage." Shuttleroid flew overhead and released a heavy canister that crushed Momiji's plant. The shockwaves then slammed into Momiji, seeming more visceral then usual from the Solid Vision system; a side-effect of Yuuto's 'experiment'? Or was that his intent?

"However, by destroying my plant monster, you've allowed me to activate my trap card, Magnificent Nature; with this, I can add an Insect Monster of equal level to the plant monster that was destroyed this turn, so I'll add Ultimate Insect Level One to my hand."

"Tick-tock, Momiji; you're going to want to speed your duel much faster then that. Go ahead, take your turn, give me your best shot."

"Very well then, if you're so impatient, I'll sacrifice my remaining Evil Thorn to summon Gigaplant to the field." The rest of Momiji's strategy was clear; next turn he'd perform Gigaplant's second summon and use its power to bring out his Ultimate Insect, and with Buried Thorns to protect his monsters, he knew that he'd have the time he'd need to win. "Gigaplant, attack Shuttleroid." He could tell that Yuuto wasn't taking this match seriously, too overconfident; it would be his downfall.

"When Shuttleroid is declared the target of an attack, I activate its effect, removing it from play." Shuttleroid fired up its engines and launched itself high into the heavens, leaving Yuuto alone to take the monstrous Gigaplant's direct attack for 2400 points of damage. He showed no sign of response from that damage. "Hmph, such soft solid vision, you could hardly channel anything with such a weak system."

"Are you suggesting that I run around as I duel? Perhaps we could be riding in the backs of cars while we're at it."

"Why not? The more energy that can be drawn upon the better." Yuuto Inoue said this without a trace of irony.

"…Apparently I still need to work on my sense of humor; in any event, I end my turn."

"Hmm, it's a shame really; I mean, I would have liked to see more of this 'harmonious power of the Earth' that you mentioned, but I guess progress can't stand to wait; first of all, in the standby phase following Shuttleroid removing itself from play, I special summon it back to the field, with the addition that you take one thousand points of damage." There was a twinkle in the sky as Shuttleroid flew down from the heavens, and as it descended back down to earth, it dropped another canister upon Momiji, and as it impacted against his shoulder, it really felt as though it were real, yet it was nothing like the Dark powers used by Mizuchi, nor the power of Light used by Takuma; could it really just be the power of the Solid Vision system increased to the nth degree?

"Next, I activate Terraforming and add my field spell card to my hand, March of Roid." The whole of the woods became flattened, paved down and made way for a field like a military base. "With this, I can special summon a Roid from my hand while I control a Roid on the field; thus, I special summon Drillroid to the field, and now I activate Life into Machines; I pay one thousand life points to add a Roid monster from my deck to my hand, and with my normal summon I bring out Carrieroid." An airship carrier, a great drill, and a shuttle, all with big cartoony eyes and other such features were all now present on Yuuto's side of the field.

"With machinery of Earth, Water, and the Sky on the field, I can remove all three of my Machineroids from play to special summon a unique monster to the field, Solidroid Delta!" Carrieroid bisected itself and turned perpendicular to the ground, becoming something like a pair of legs. Drillroid's drill opened up as it rolled on top of Carrieroid, becoming a torso and a pair of arms. Finally, Shuttleroid flew on top and hooked itself into place, its structure altering itself subtly to become the head. "Now, Solidroid Delta's effect; when summoned, I can discard Roid monsters from my hand to destroy an equal number of cards on your field." Solidroid gripped the ground with its feet, and launched a pair of missiles from its back, destroying Momiji's monster and his trap card.

"Now, twenty-three hundred life points for you, and twenty-five hundred attack points from Solidroid Delta; lets see what sort of impact this unimpeded attack power will have." Shooting off like a rocket, Solidroid Delta slammed into Momij, slamming him into the Tree hidden by the Solid Vision system, and the pain of it very nearly caused him to pass out. And Yuuto, Yuuto thrust his fist into the air in a sign of victory.

"You…do you see what you're doing?" As Yuuto's field spell card faded, Momiji could feel how dry the tree had become, and he could see the beetle, now fallen, no longer to move. He himself felt his vision becoming foggy, his limbs becoming numb.

"Yes I do; even with this meager conversion rate, the results are unambiguous. I'll have to polish these results off, compare to my other notes, but I should have something I can present by the end of the week. Thank you for your time Momiji, if you want to collaborate on my research again, you'll probably find me at either Amon Garam's cabin or at my room in the Osiris Red dorm. Until then, goodbye!" Yuuto pulled the receiver off of the tree and dashed off, and in Momiji's hazy vision he almost seemed childlike in his joy.

But Momiji knew children could reckless, careless, cause great damage without realizing it. He tried to get up, and found his limbs were like rubber. But he held himself to the tree, tried to feel the energy that still remained within it; fortunately, despite all that Yuuto had managed to drain, there was still a warmth and vitality that dwelled deep within. Over the course of about ten minutes Momiji rested himself beneath the tree, and when he felt renewed he got up again, and began to make his way back to the Ra Yellow dorm.

* * *

"Momiji? Misawa's been looking for you." Jun Manjoume said as he watched Momiji emerge from the woods; he himself had been out for a walk, trying to clear his head of a minor irritation that had cropped up earlier that day. But with this before him, he set that issue aside.

"He has? Do you know where he is now?" Momiji seemed a bit put out, like he'd just been through a particularly harrowing duel. Wait…

"Did you just duel one of Amon Garam's students?" Manjoume said, truthfully more interested in what tactical information Momiji could impart him with over any supporting emotional issue.

"Not just; it was at least twenty or thirty minutes ago. But you forgot to answer my question; where is Misawa?"

Manjoume sighed, seeing that he would get no useful information out of him. "Misawa should have returned to the Ra Yellow hall about fifteen minutes ago, but if he's moved since then, I don't know."

"Thank you Manjoume, I'll be on my way." Momiji marched steadily past Manjoume, leaving him to deal once more with his own thoughts. Thoughts of how irritating his older brothers could be. What the hell were they even thinking, sending him an E-mail like that?

"Hey Jun, how's Amon Garam?" The message had started with his brother Chosaku grinning at him. "I trust that he's done an impeccable job of saving your precious Duel Academia from itself, no?"

"We certainly hope he does." Shoji had said with a practiced chuckle. "This whole arrangement is a joint agreement between the Garam group and the Manjoume group; we let Amon be the public face of it all, let him take the credit, but when the time comes we will reap the profit."

"Oh," Chosaku then said, "and if you're wondering why you weren't consulted in all this, well, it seemed the board of directors had a longstanding policy of not speaking with members of cults, whether or not they're still in that cult."

"But don't worry; with our help, your dueling career will remain safe." Shoji said, finishing off the message, "you are certainly lucky to have such generous big brothers as us."

"Who the hell do they think they were kidding!" Despite the time that had passed since he'd first read that message, his blood boiled over at the memory of it. Manjoume then glared in the direction of Amon Garam's cabin. "Now I've got an extra incentive to exposing your plot, Amon Garam. Shoji, Chosaku, I hope I get the chance to see the looks on your faces when your petty scheme crumbles before you in my hands." Manjoume then rushed back to his room, intent on preparing more fully for the impending, hoping that it would come soon, very soon.

* * *

"Really, Yuuto? That's very interesting to hear." Amon Garam said, smiling gregariously at Yuuto through the webcam, the boy hardly able to sit still. "But still, that's only one experiment you've been able to perform with your system, and you seem to have glossed over the impact your system had on…Momiji, was it?"

"Oh, well, he kept complaining about environmental issues, when anyone could tell that there's no way my system, even at peak efficiency, could have any sort of meaningful effect, and…" He paused as he saw the disapproval in Amon's eyes.

"I was referring to the damage you did to his body; that's the sort of recklessness that can compromise the work that I'm trying to accomplish here; it's one thing for one of you to try to reshape Duel Academia to better suit your particular ideological bent, I can defend you on those charges, but when you assault a student, whether on purpose or otherwise, that taxes my resources. My resources are not unlimited."

"So…you want me to stop my experiments, Mr. Garam?"

"Don't call me Mr, just address me by my full name. And you don't have to stop, just put them on hold; I'll let you know when the time is right, and then you can proceed with your experiments at your heart's content. And remember, I look forward to what you discover."

"Thank you, Amon Garam!" Yuuto Inoue turned off the conection, and Amon Garam looked to Echo.

"What do you think, Echo?" She looked at Amon, her features stern. She glanced over at her duel disc, then looked back to him, her expression content.

"I see; but just because this power is enough for you, it doesn't mean it won't be enough for those that are weaker then you; after all, the students, they're all still struggling to find their purpose life, each of them trying their utmost to leave their mark on this world. But you, and me, we know our roles in life, and that's what makes us strong, don't you think, Echo?" She took his hand in hers, then brought it to her cheek.

"I agree, Echo. Cogito Ergo Sum, I do believe that the measure of the heart is in how it is loved, and I defy anyone to find a greater love than ours, my dear Echo." She wrapped her arms around him, and escorted him to their room. Neither of them exchanged words for the rest of the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Calculate, Inquisitive Haruka Endo

"Excuse me, you have the book I'm looking for." Misawa looked up from the desk that he was using at the Duel Academia library and into the eyes of the owner of the soft, lilting voice that spoke to him; she was a Ra Yellow, with soft rounded features. "My name is Haruka Endo; I'm one of the students that Amon Garam sponsored, and I need that book you're looking at." She adjusted her glasses, which were rather thick and ornate looking. Misawa then examined the book he was reading, Dynamics of World Level Dueling, and looked back up at Haruka.

"Why this one in particular, if you don't mind my asking?" Misawa followed Haruka with his eyes as she walked around the table and took the seat opposite him. She then pushed aside the stack of books in the middle, making it easier for the two of them to look each other in the eye.

"Because I'm on the verge of an important breakthrough on the power of dueling, and there are certain details about certain duels I need to confirm, and those details are in that book." It was odd, how much force she was able to put behind her voice, yet she still retained that soft quality that she first spoke with.

"You wouldn't happen to be working with Yuuto Inoue, would you?" Misawa remembered well what had happened last week; Momiji had finally returned to the Ra Yellow dorm, and there was a look in his eye that Misawa had not seen before, an anger he'd not thought his dear friend capable of. Momiji had been surprisingly open about what had happened, and he was insistent that Misawa complete his research as quickly as possible. And so here he was, pouring over volume after volume of any text that had the least bit to do with the interaction between Industrial Illusion's Duel Monsters and Kaiba Corporation's Solid Vision which brought it to life, so to speak.

"Him? No. I'll admit that we're each working in similar areas, but the cores of our theories are worlds apart; he wants to try and draw upon external sources of energy, like the grass and the trees and stuff like that. Personally, I don't think much of it; I'd rather try to draw on the souls and energy of the duelist; it seems much more fair and reasonable that way, don't you think?" Haruka leaned forward as she spoke, resting her elbows on the table. "So you see, I need as many samples of high level duels where the duelists managed to experience some sort of direct connection to their monsters beyond the normal limits of Solid Vision. And yes, I'm familiar with Duelist Kingdom and Battle City and Daitokuji's experiments and the Saiou sibling's strange powers, but I'm looking for something a little more…low-key."

"Hmm…you know, I'm actually studying a very similar issue myself." Misawa said, hoping that this encounter would prove more fruitful than Momiji's with Yuuto. "But I'm interrogating it from the perspective of someone who's stood in the epicenter of the latter two events you mentioned. In short, If Duel Monsters really does serve as the reflection of the human soul, if it's the human soul that gives it the power that it has, then that would mean that the kind of power that Judai, Asuka, Manjoume, Shou, Momoe, Junko, and myself possess, it should be possible for anyone to possess that sort of power. The trick, of course, is to figure out a way for people to develop such abilities without being exposed to dark powers."

"A more supernatural variation to my work…perhaps we could collaborate for a little while?"

"Well, it would help it go faster, and the sooner I can complete this research, the sooner I can help Duel Academia sustain itself without depending on Amon Garam's generosity…sorry." For a moment, Misawa had forgotten who he'd been speaking to.

"No, that's okay; I can see why you'd like Amon Garam out of your hair. If I were in need of charity, and it came with nothing but attachments and conditions, I'd be pretty resentful too."

"Ah, okay. Well, I suppose you can look at this book for now, and I'll move on to another one for the time being." Misawa then pushed Dynamics of World Level Dueling over to Haruka, and opened up Tracing the Path From Egypt: The Journey of Pegasus J. Crawford.

* * *

"Mr. Phoenix, is everything all right?" Ms. Tome said as she watched Edo Phoenix looking through the assorted booster packs in her store. "Unless I'm mistaken, you've never come here to get new cards before."

"You're not, Ms. Tome. It's nothing against you or the rest of the students, but I've always trusted the cards my parents created for me." He shuffled the packs in his hands, studying the glossy cover art of their respective 'ace' monsters.

"But since that duel with Shinji Kato, you've become worried that the deck your parents created for you won't be enough anymore." Ms. Tome took a seat behind the counter on top of a stool, her shoulders resting on the counter.

"It's true that the game is always evolving; even the Legendary Duelists had to upgrade their decks with the passage of time. And Shinji, he managed to overcome my deck so effortlessly, so I know I'm being stupid about this, but when I think about trying to change my deck…" Edo became silent; he couldn't say out loud that he feared the disapproval of his parents for dishonoring the legacy they left to him, it was so childish.

"Is it because you've never learned how to put together a deck of your own?" Ms. Tome said with a gentle inquisitiveness. "If that's the issue, then maybe I could give you a quick tutorial on the subject."

"Eh?" Edo reacted with a momentary shock that shook him from his musings. "No, that's okay, Professor Chronos has made sure that we all understand the ins and outs of Deck Construction." Edo then quickly put away the booster packs in his hands, not taking the time to put them back in the order he found them. "Anyway, I really need to get back to my room and get to work on my assignment for Professor Saiou, so if you'll excuse me…" Edo bowed before Ms. Tome, but upon returning to an upright posture he found that she'd already moved between him and the exit to her shop.

"Edo, have you spoken with Takuma and Mizuchi? You've never called either of them 'Professor' before."

"…" Edo rubbed his shoulder, an expression of his nervousness, "They've been very busy lately, as have I; in addition to our regular daily obligations, we have to be ready for whatever plans Amon Garam has waiting in the wings."

"And you can't find five minutes to let him know how worried you are? To ask for Mizuchi's advice or support?" Ms. Tome put her hands on her hips to assert her presence. "I like to think that we're all like family here, and that means we have to be able to communicate with one another."

"Ms. Tome," Edo said, looking away from her, "If you don't mind, I'd really appreciate if you didn't try to interfere with my personal affairs." He didn't understand how this had happened, but he was going to bring it to an end.

"All right Edo." Ms. Tome said as she stepped aside, her flaring nostrils expressing her frustration. "If you need more time to yourself, then that's what you need. But you're going to need to reach out before long; trust me, I've been around awhile, I know how kids your age think."

"…Thank you, Ms. Tome, you've been a lovely host." Edo said with a much shallower bow then before, and he left her card shop. "A kid my age?" It was true that he'd turned sixteen not too long ago, but to attribute these feelings in his heart to hormones…Edo refused to let himself make an excuse like that, or any other kind of excuse for that matter.

As Edo made his way back to the Obelisk Blue dorm, to his room, he saw Shinji Kato, and he altered his path just enough so that his would not cross with Shinji's. He didn't even realize he had done this until he was safely past Shinji. He quickened his pace, and said nothing to Manjoume, to Momoe, or to Asuka as he passed by them, stopping only after he'd closed the door to his room behind him, locking it.

"…I'm scared." He felt his chest tighten as he admitted it to himself. "I'm sorry, Takuma, Mizuchi, but if he, if Shinji Kato tried to take you away, I don't know how I'd be able to stop him." The memory of the words he spoke in the aftermath of his duel with Shinji now rang hollow, and so he buried himself in his work, trying escape his fear.

* * *

"Thank you Haruka, this collaboration really was a good idea." Misawa said, his notes on the table stacked half as high as one of the books he'd been studying. "I'm sure with this, I'll be able to form a good test for my theories on how to cultivate spiritual powers through dueling."

"Well," Haruka said, taking a quick glance at her own stack of notes, equal in height to Misawa's, "wouldn't the obvious fist test for our theories be to duel one another? We both know what it is we're each looking for, both in terms of confirming evidence and disproving evidence. It would definitely be most productive for us to work together for at least a little longer before parting ways."

"Hmmm…well, Momiji would appreciate if I did everything I could as efficiently as possible…all right Haruka, where do you want to duel?"

"If I recall correctly, the Ra Yellow dueling hall is free today. Let's go ahead and use that."

"Very well." Misawa returned the books he was studying back to their shelves and walked with Haruka to the Ra Yellow dueling hall. As he did, he thought to himself that Haruka really did seem different from the rest of her compatriots who'd been sponsored by Amon Garam, and barring some unforeseen reversal in the duel, this could easily become an important turning point in the inevitable battle against Amon Garam.

Upon arriving at their destination, the two duelists stood at opposite ends, shuffled their decks, and armed their duel discs.

"All right Haruka, I'll take the first turn and summon Gozuki to the field, activating his effect to send an undead monster in my deck to the grave. Now you go ahead and take yours, Haruka."

"It will be my pleasure, Misawa." The moment she drew her next card, there was a decided shine in her eye, but from what Misawa could see it was only excitement for the duel, nothing truly noteworthy for the test. "I summon from my hand Heart of Steel in attack mode." A large hexagonal artifact appeared on the field, and then began to unfold again and again, eventually becoming a warrior made of pure steel. "And when Heart of Steel is summoned, I can equip a level four or lower monster from my hand to it, as though it were a spell card. So I'll equip Heart of Sword to Heart of Steel." Another, smaller hexagonal artifact appeared, unfolding in similar fashion until it became a sword that Heart of Steel could comfortably hold in one hand. "And when Heart of Sword is equipped to a monster, that monster can automatically destroy any defense position monster it battles without the need for a damage calculation."

Heart of Steel shifted the sword in its hand and held it high over its head. "Go forth, wielder of the Sword of Valor, attack with Steel Force!" Heart of Steel began to glow with a golden aura as it rushed forward and drove its sword through Gozuki, slaying it for 100 points of damage. Despite the enthusiasm Haruka demonstrated, Misawa could find nothing beyond the ordinary in her monster's attack.

"A technically proficient move, but so far it doesn't prove anything one way or the other."

"Really? That's a shame, but it would have been unrealistic to expect material results so early. So you go ahead and take your turn, see what you can do."

"All right, first I'll summon Fox Fire to the field, and since I control a Fire attribute monster, I can special summon Goka the Pyre of Malice from my hand, though I will have to destroy Fox Fire in the process." Fox Fire was instantly trapped within the furnace of hell, its own fire overwhelmed within moments. "Goka, attack Heart of Steel!" As Misawa called out the attack, he felt the presence of the Nine-Tailed Fox, tried to fuel the attack in such a way as to help Haruka awaken her true potential as well. And as Heart of Steel was forced to weather the storm of fire, it parried that fire with its sword. The sword melted, but the Heart survived.

"When Heart of Steel would be destroyed, I can destroy one other card I control instead, and then draw one card from my deck." She felt the 400 points of damage wash over her. "Hmm, I've got to say I'm not feeling anything either; not seeing any spirits or any of the stuff you were talking about."

"Really? Well, you take your turn, and I'll try to see if I can think of something else that would trigger that ability in you."

"With pleasure, Misawa." When she drew her next card, she seemed to shiver for a moment. "Yes, with this I will definitely be able to bring out my true vigor. First I play Terraforming to add a Field Spell card from my deck to my hand, and then I activate it, the Victorious Venue!" Brilliantly shining armaments of all shapes and sizes now adorned the walls of the hall. "With this field in play, monsters can no longer be destroyed by battle, but all battle damage is doubled from this point on. Furthermore, monsters can't enter the defense position, and if they're summoned in defense position, they're immediately switched to attack position. Now, I'll sacrifice my Heart of Steel to summon Heart of Silver to the field."

Heart of Steel folded back down into a Hexagon, and was then overlaid by a new one, which then unfolded into a much taller figure made of silver. "And like Heart of Steel, Heart of Silver allows me to equip a monster from my hand to it, so I'll equip Heart of Bow." Once more the Hexagon appeared, and as its name suggested, it unfolded into the form of a bow that was highly complex, with many gears and other such devices to amplify its power. "When Heart of Bow is equipped to a monster, that monster can destroy one spell or trap card on the opponents side of the field after the damage calculation. But since you don't have any, I'll just attack Goka."

As Heart of Silver drew the string of the bow, an arrow of burning light appeared, nocked into place and ready to fire. "Heart of Silver, draw upon it, the shining strength within you and fire, Falling Star Arrow!" And so Heart of Silver fired the arrow high into the air, and as it completed its arc it grew brighter, hotter. It slammed down into Goka, suffusing it with an overwhelming amount of energy, energy that overflowed and rushed into Misawa for 400 points of damage thanks to the effect of Victorious Venue.

"How was that, Misawa? Were you able to feel it, the strength of my soul, the passion of my heart? Or was it just Solid Vision all over again?"

"…It could have been something more." Misawa rubbed at his chest, where the damage had concentrated itself. "It's not up to the scale of the powers of Darkness or Light, but it might have been a purer expression then either. Perhaps more damage would make the matter clearer?"

"That would seem simple and straight forward, but I doubt that sheer damage by itself will prove the key."

"I agree, else what you and I are seeking would have been discovered long ago."

"Agreed. So why don't you take your turn, see what you can accomplish."

"With gusto; first, with Goka's effect, I special summon a fireball token to the field, and then I sacrifice that token to increase Goka's attack power by five hundred points, allowing me to attack your Heart of Silver!" Once more he tried to draw on the strength of the Nine-Tailed Fox, tried to identify more fully with what it symbolized, a transcendent a power that connected the living and the dead. Goka's fire ended up being channeled through Heart of Silver, magnified considerably to inflict 600 points of damage to Haruka.

"Damn, that time was way more visceral. But at the same time, it felt…controlled. I think if I felt it again I could be more precise about it."

Misawa grinned; at last, progress was being made! If this discovery were to be developed and refined, it could lead to an entire new era of dueling, a world in which the rare chosen touched by dark powers that nearly as often possessed them, would not be the only ones with power. "Then I'll end my turn by summoning Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower, which can't be attacked so long as I control another Undead monster."

"And now, during my standby phase, I activate Heart of Silver's effect and special summon Heart of Bow to the field, and then I sacrifice both of my monsters to summon Heart of Diamond!" The new monster shined brilliantly on the battlefield, ten feet tall and reflecting cascading rainbows all around. "And now Heart of Diamond will equip Heart of Lance from my hand." The lance was a huge and intricate weapon, very nearly as big as the warrior that wielded it. "Its effect allows my monster to attack twice."

"Now, Heart of Diamond, he who channels light and is harder than all other minerals, wield the lance of the sun and attack with Twin Nova!" Huge streams of energy came out from the back of the lance, like it was a rocket. Heart of Diamond held on tight and rushed forward with incomparable speed, and the moment it struck Goka, the force was doubled and instantly channeled directly into Misawa's heart. He didn't even have a moment to breathe before Heart of Diamond attacked again, doubling the damage once more, 3200 points altogether.

Misawa could hardly believe it; it wasn't just the intensity of the Solid Vision simulation, Haruka was definitely tapping directly into the strength of her soul to empower the damage. And yet, though he could feel the connection between himself and the Nine-Tailed Fox, he couldn't feel any such connection between Haruka and Heart of Diamond. Could some other monster be serving as the reflection of her soul, or could her power truly have been independent of his understanding of the occult roots of Duel Monsters?

"I can tell that that definitely had the desired effect, but of course the real measure of an experiment is the ability to repeat results. So I'll set one card and end my turn."

"Indeed, but for my experiment to come to fruition, I'm going to have to cut yours short and break down the barrier of your monsters! I activate Goka's effect to special summon another Fireball token, and then sacrifice that token along with Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower to summon Akaoni to the field, and with Akaoni's effect I discard my hand and return all the cards on your field back to your hand!"

Akaoni took a swig of sake from the flask at his side, and breathed a huge column of fire upon Haruka's side of the field. But just as the fire reached its peak, a beam of light shot out, causing Akaoni and Goka to vanish entirely.

"My trap card, Beyond the Impossible; for every card that you removed from my field, I can remove from play a card on your side of the field. Which means you have nothing left to play."

"Unfortunately, that just isn't true; its impressive that you stopped me from winning on this turn, but you won't win on your next turn either; you see, one of the cards I discarded was Mezuki, and when that monster is in the grave I can remove from play to special summon another Undead monster to the field. Behold, the card that reflects my soul, Nine-Tailed Fox!" The howl of the beast echoed on the empty battlefield, now cleared of all obstacles. The Nine-Tailed Fox attacked with an eagerness that came as no surprise to Misawa; in his mind he knew that this would be the moment of truth, of whether or not he could change the Dueling World or not. A sweep of its tails, and the Nine-Tailed fox did 2200 points of damage to Haruka.

"…That was different." Haruka said as she wiped off the virtual dust from her pants. "So that's the spiritual power that you and your friends use, huh? I've got to say, I don't much care for it." Indeed, Misawa could see, if only for a moment, that her spirit was refusing to connect with her deck, regarding them only as tools, nothing more. "Yes, I think that my theory, my approach, will be the one that becomes the one adopted by the dueling world." For a moment Misawa thought that a red aura was about to surround Haruka, but he remembered that as strange as his life was, it was not a shonen anime.

"Then show it to me, the power of your theory. I end my turn."

"Very well; first, I reactivate Victorious Venue, and then I activate Will to Rise, discarding Heart of Diamond and Heart of Lance to summon Heart of Gold from my hand, whose effect allows me to equip as many monsters in my grave as possible, and for every monster so equipped, Heart of Gold gains five hundred attack points." Greaves of silver, breastplate of steel, and a helm of diamond. In one hand it held the lance, and in the other it held the bow. "Now, Heart of Gold, shine with the true strength of my soul, attack with the infinite glory of my principles, Combined Ultimate Strike!" Using the lance as though it were an arrow, Heart of Gold fired with impossible force at the Nine-Tailed Fox. But before it could impact against the monster, a wall of frozen wind suddenly manifested, serving as a shield. That wind then coalesced into the form of a woman with pale skin dressed in a white dress.

"When my monster is attacked, I can remove Yuki-Onna, one of the other monsters in my grave that I discarded last turn, and reduce the battle damage to zero. Furthermore, Nine-Tailed Fox's attack power is permanently increased by one-half your monsters attack power." Misawa's monster swelled with strength, and he himself felt that rush of power too.

"Is that so? Unfortunately, my monster has more then one method of attack to call upon; when Heart of Silver is equipped to a monster, I can send it to the grave during the battle phase to increase my monster's attack power by one thousand points." The greaves of silver flowed out, covering Heart of Gold's entire upper body before fading away. Nevertheless, with its new attack power of 4500, and a second attack from Heart of the Lance, the battle was now over before it began. The damage was channeled through the Nine-Tailed Fox, seemingly directly into Misawa's soul, leaving him only semi-conscious.

After several minutes, Misawa roused himself back up, and saw that Haruka was hunched down on her knees, watching him. "For a moment I was worried that you were going to just walk away, saying something about how you got the data you needed."

"Don't worry Misawa, I'm just checking to make sure that the impact wasn't too dangerous. And I'm sure I'll need to consult with you in the future; who knows what snags I'll encounter with this theory of mine. Until then, I'm pretty sure Amon would like to hear back from me." Haruka Endo then left the dueling hall. Misawa stood back, and shook his head with a sigh.

"Well, that went pretty well I think; could have been a little more ideal, but at least I have something to take back to Momiji."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** I failed to mention this at the end of the last chapter, but Haruka Endo's deck is loosely based on Buso Renkin, by Nobuhiro Watsuki, who also wrote Rurouni Kenshin. I recommend both series. With that out of the way, on to the chapter proper.

* * *

Awakening, Empty Hachirou Sasaki

"Deep cleansing breaths Momoe, deep cleansing breaths." Momoe said beneath her breath as she looked at her bed. Or, to be more accurate, the occupant in her bed. It was an Osiris Red, the red collar peeking out from under her blanket told her that much, and the long lanky build was definitely that of a boy. His face was buried in her pillow, but from the back she could see that his hair was long and stringy, like he hadn't showered in days. This was corroborated by the smell, which was what had first alerted her to the fact that something odd was in her room. At the very least, he didn't seem to be a snorer. Even so, so far as Momoe was concerned, there was only one thing to do; she walked to the side of her bed, flipped the sheets off of him, and then rolled him off onto the floor.

"Ughh…" The boy groaned as he rubbed at his side, the side that had hit the ground directly. "It can't be time for class already."

"You're damn right it isn't, but it is time for you to explain why you broke into my room." Momoe was firm, steady, confident, striking the exact tone that was most likely to get the answers she was looking for.

"Huh? No, I went into my room; I know I did because I always leave my room unlocked, ever since I lost the key." He then looked up at Momoe for the first time, and he smiled in what would have probably been a suave fashion if he had maintained his hygiene. "Of course, if someone were to drag me into their room, at least it was someone as lovely as you."

"…Yeah, even if I weren't already a lesbian, that wouldn't have worked. Now explain to me how you broke into my room…" At that point a memory rushed back to Momoe; it was very quick, barely at the edge of her sight, but she hadn't properly closed her door when she left for class that day. "Okay, maybe you didn't 'break in', but this is not your room, hell this isn't even your dorm!"

"…Huh?" The Osiris Red boy rubbed at his head in confusion, and just then his stomach growled. Momoe wouldn't have been surprised if the people in the rooms next to hers had heard it. "Sorry, I haven't eaten in days. Yeah…I remember now, I was really tired, so I think I got lost; I can vaguely remember people wondering what I was doing here, but I didn't pay them any mind, they didn't matter to me. So, I guess I owe you an apology after all. Sorry, Momoe Hamaguchi." He then attempted to bow before her, but he stumbled over onto his face.

Momoe sighed, her face in the palm of her hand. "…One of the perks in Obelisk Blue is the private showers; use mine while I head out to get a meal for you." Regardless of why this was happening, of what had really motivated that strange boy to sneak into her room, she was not going to kick him while he was already down. Of course, depending on what he had to say when she got back, she could end up kicking him away anyway.

It took her about ten minutes to get back to her room with the large basic box lunch in hand, and she was rather surprised by the figure seated on her bed; he was still rubbing the towel over his head to dry off his considerable body of hair, but at least the smell was gone and his features came through more…cleanly. He then started sniffing at the air, and looked to Momoe with a smile on his face. "Thank you very much, I'll make it up to you as soon as I can." Once more, his stomach growled.

"Eat first, then we're going to find out some answers." She put the box in his hands and then went over to her desk to double check the references in her paper for Professor Hibiki's class. Out of the corner of her ear she could hear him eating, quickly but politely. A few minutes later, she couldn't hear him eating anymore, so she turned in her seat towards him. He was positively beaming now.

"Thank you very much, Momoe Hamaguchi. Oh, now that my head's a little more together now, I realize I haven't told you my name; Hachirou Sasaki, first year Osiris Red, I was the third student that Amon Garam decided to sponsor to Duel Academia, I've been living on my own since last Febuary, though I'm not too clear on the details on where my family went, but Amon Garam is keeping his ears out for them, but I pointed out to him that there was no need to hurry on his part but I was thankful that he was willing to put in that kind of effort for me, and…?" Momoe had interrupted him by putting her hand in front of his face.

"Okay, it was nice that you gave me your name and that Amon Garam sponsored you, but all the rest of that…" she waved her hand around as she searched for her words, "that was just empty exposition! No, what I really want to know is why you haven't been eating or bathing; really, why? The facilities here are all paid for, thanks to Amon Garam anyway." Momoe said with a sideways mutter, wishing that he would just do whatever it was he was going to do already; four weeks of Duel Academia, and he hadn't even left his cabin!

"Oh, that? Well, I suppose I was just too busy."

"Too busy?" Momoe raised her eye at that. "Too busy to eat and practice basic hygiene?"

"Well, I can see how my work matters, for Duel Academia and for Amon Garam, but I seem to be having trouble lately thinking of why I'd eat; it doesn't seem like it would really fill me up, because even now after I finished that meal you brought me, I still don't feel satisfied, and you've felt that feeling too haven't you, that sensation where there's something important missing inside you and you can't figure out what it is and so long as you don't know what that something is, you have a real hard time figuring out what your motive to do certain, basic things are, and in my case those things are eating and bathing so it's a pretty unfortunate habit I've developed but I can't figure out what I should do about it, or even why I should try to do anything about it, and…!"

"Stop!" Momoe knew that she was probably overheard just then, but at that moment she couldn't bring herself to care. "Haven't you ever heard of a period before? Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you're going to nod or shake your head in response. You got that?" He nodded attentively. "All right…you said that you were feeling empty, right?" He nodded once more, not making a sound. "And that you can't figure out how to fill it up, so you don't bother with taking care of yourself?" He nodded again, almost eagerly. "Okay…this sounds serious, and way out of my league to handle. Come on, let's get you to Head Nurse Ayukawa right away." She stuck her hand out to him, and slowly he pointed at himself, as though not quite believing.

"Wait, won't this take time that you could better use on yourself?"

"Trust me, if I've learned anything in my time here at Duel Academia, its that you can't turn people away when they need your help. But at the same time, you can't make them accept your help, so please, meet me halfway on this, okay?"

"Okay." Hachirou said, a contemplative tone in his voice. They walked out of the Obelisk Blue dorm, out underneath the full moon's light. They were halfway to their destination when Hachirou Sasaki stopped. "Momoe, there's something important I need to tell you."

"Oh?" She stopped and turned around to face him.

"Walking with you like this, seeing you take such active interest and concern in me even though you don't know me, even though I associate with someone that I know you and your friends disapprove of, I think that it's doing the trick for me, it makes me feel a small stirring deep inside of myself, like I should care about more than what I can do for Amon Garam, it's giving me an inkling of a motive to worry about myself, so what I think I'm trying to get at is that I don't want us to part ever again."

"…Don't you honestly think that you're rushing this a bit? I mean, try and be rational about it. Besides, I already told you about my orientation, remember?"

"That's okay, this has nothing to do with sexuality or libido, this feeling and sensation that grows stronger within me, filling me with warmth and purpose, it transcends issues like those, and it occurs to me that I should take you with me to see Amon Garam, so that he can see the effect you have on me and thus learn more about the truth of Duel Academia."

"Oh, so that's what you think? All right, how about a duel; you win, and I'll go with you to talk with Amon Garam, but I win and I continue escorting you to Head Nurse Ayukawa without another word out of you. How about it?"

"That sounds like an exceptional plan, because this way I can demonstrate to you directly the elevation of my own soul that I am experiencing thanks to you, but of course since you are the one triggering this change in me, you will have the honor of the first turn."

"Fine, let's do this over there then." Momoe said, pointing just off the path at the border of the woods. Hachirou nodded and followed dutifully. The two armed their duel discs, and drew their cards. "First I discard Gaap the Divine Soldier to special summon Dark Grepher to the field." A warrior with ashen grey skin appeared on the field, his muscular right arm holding a large sword. "Next I activate his second effect, discarding Second Goblin from my hand to send Giant Orc from my deck to the grave, and now I remove all three dark attribute demons in my grave from play to special summon from my hand Dark Necrofear!" A silent hymn now echoed across the field as Dark Necrofear manifested on the field. "And now I summon Armageddon Knight to send Goblin King from my deck to my grave. Well, that's the end of my turn."

"Splendid, that's simply great, I knew that the strength of your soul would be fully reflected in your duel. I can only hope that my Madness Pawn will be able to measure up against your monsters." As Hachirou summoned his monster, a pool of inky blackness appeared on the ground before him, and emerging from that pool was a slim, androgynous figure dressed in a black robe. The figure held a black sword in its hands, and in its eyes Momoe could see both terror and madness. Yet with only 1200 attack points, surely he couldn't be trying to attack with it… "And now I set one card to end my turn."

"Hmph, so all I have to do is destroy your face-down card and I'll be home free, huh? All right, I summon from my hand Snipe Hunter." A small little imp appeared, and in its hand it held a ray gun, and atop that gun was a spinning wheel with six demarcated areas, each marked by the numbers 1 through 6. "Now, I discard a card from my hand, and if Snipe Hunter gets a number aside from one or six, I get to destroy one card you control." The wheel on Snipe Hunter's gun began to spin, faster than the eye could follow. It stopped quite suddenly, the pointer pointing to the number 1. The Snipe Hunter pulled on the trigger, but nothing happened, aside from a clicking sound. "Hmm, well that's a shame. But I'm not going to let one little trap slow me down; I attack with Dark Necrofear!"

As Dark Necrofear flew up to Madness Pawn, lines shot out of the inky black darkness around Hachirou's monster and into each of Momoe's monsters. "My trap card, Black Blood Infection, activated the moment you declared your attack, will force all of your monsters to attack, and each monster will gain a Black Blood counter after its respective attack." Dark Necrofear glared at Madness Pawn, and while Hachirou's monster wailed under the psychic onslaught, it did not perish. "Furthermore, so long as Madness Pawn is in attack mode it can't be destroyed by battle, instead gaining a Black Blood counter at the end of the damage step." As each of Momoe's monsters attacked Madness Pawn, its body became covered in more and more of its own blood, and the look in its eyes became more and more crazed. Meanwhile, each of Momoe's monster's found the Black Blood sneaking into their bodies, infecting them in subtle, growing ways.

"That's a lot of damage to take to keep one monster on the field." Momoe knew that there was no way any duelist picked by Amon Garam would be weak, but this strategy seemed too mad to make sense. "For your sake I hope it was worth it. I end my turn."

"Oh yes, I agree it was a costly strategy, but for some reason I find that this kind of risk works well with me, being willing to take this kind of damage before getting my first blow in. So for my turn, I summon Twisted Golem and set one card." A harsh figure now stood aside the Madness Pawn, jagged metal running along the length of its arms and legs, reminiscent of the teeth of a chainsaw. "Now that's the end of my turn."

"All right, my turn now, and…what the!" Momoe saw all of her monsters rushing forward, mad glints in their eyes.

"When both players control monsters with Black Blood counters, my opponent if forced to skip their first main phase and attack with all their infected monsters against my own. Furthermore, I now activate my trap card, Mocking Reflection; I remove a Black Blood counter from each of your monsters, and remove an equal number from Madness Pawn; thus, you will take the battle damage this turn and your monsters will be destroyed at the end of the damage step."

Upon reaching battle range, the black blood within each of Momoe's monster's shot out of them painfully and gathered into Madness Pawn's sword. Then all the black blood within Madness Pawn poured out, giving its sword a reflective edge. Gripped in the terror of the mad reflections within Madness Pawn's sword, Momoe's demons fell before the frantic swings of Hachirou's monsters. And then, in the aftermath of that battle, Madness Pawn became covered in yet more Black Blood, its expression as manic as ever.

"So that's the strategy you were aiming for? You cut me off pretty effectively there, Hachirou." Momoe groused as she looked at the lone card in her hand; without any monsters to sacrifice, she wouldn't be able to summon the Legendary Devil.

"Yes, you see it right, that by awakening the passion and vigor of your monsters, your soul that they reflect will be awakened as well, and if I can awaken this in you, then it becomes all the more proof that my own soul is awakening, don't you agree Momoe Hamaguchi?"

"Well, you're definitely onto something, but that something is about to be mine." The spirit of Dark Necrofear suddenly appeared behind Madness Pawn. "During the end phase of the turn that Dark Necrofear is destroyed, I can equip it to one monster you control, and switch that monster over to my side of the field." Madness Pawn became extremely nervous, plainly frightened by the spirit possessing it. It crossed over to Momoe's side of the field with hardly any sign of struggle.

"Very good, excellent, a wonderful reversal of expectations, my dear Momoe. Yes, my skin, there's an energy flowing all around it, everything is becoming more clear, more vivid. I need to win this, I need to be victorious so that Amon Garam can see what you've made of me! Since you control a monster with Black Blood counters, I can summon Madness Clown to the field without sacrifice." It emerged from out of the pool of Black Blood that Madness Pawn stood in, an emaciated figure clad in the attire of a clown; even the heartiest of jovial clowns could be creepy to some, but this macabre figure, with its unnaturally long anatomy, could not help sending chills down Momoe's spine. "And now I activate Twisted Golem's effect, sacrificing it to destroy one monster with Black Blood counters on it, and for every such counter on the destroyed monster, two cards are sent from your deck to the grave."

Twisted Golem rushed forward and wrapped its whole body around Madness Pawn, and the jagged metal teeth that ran along the length of its body began to grind against the poor pawn. As the macabre scene played out, more and more cards were lost from Momoe's deck, eight in all. "And now with the field cleared, there is nothing to block or dilute the impact of my soul; bear it, Momoe Hamaguchi, and see what it is I can be!" Madness Clown twisted itself around Momoe and struck at an almost impossible angle, dealing 2000 points of damage to her. "Yes, yes, it's all becoming so clear, and it will be transparent the moment I win. So please, take your turn Momoe, so that we may see each other's souls in full with the power of the duel!"

Momoe breathed in and out, steadying herself. She knew that Hachirou's shift from detachment to mania in all likelihood hinted at deeper, more complex issues than she'd first suspected. "Sorry Hachirou, but it's become way too important for me to win this duel now." She drew her card, and smiled at the opportunity to play the new card she'd just picked up. "I discard Legendary Devil in my hand to summon Goblin Lord to the field." Tall, well built, handsome even, this goblin was far beyond the rest of its peers, sharing only the green skin in common. "Goblin Lord gains four hundred attack points for every level of the monster discarded for the summon, and since Legendary Devil was sixth level, that makes twenty four hundred attack points. Furthermore, during the main phase, I can remove two level four or lower demons in my grave from play, and raise Goblin Lord's attack power by half their combined attack power."

The spirits of the Giant Orc and the Goblin Attack Force appeared before the Goblin Lord, and the grin it sported showed the viciousness just below the surface of its handsome guise. Goblin Lord grabbed their throats, and strangled them until not even their spirits could survive. Taking that power into itself, Goblin Lord grew more handsome, more vicious, and it struck down Madness Clown with an unspeakable brutality, ending the duel.

* * *

"…And after that, I took him to see Head Nurse Ayukawa." Momoe said, all of her friends gathered together in the same place for the first time in weeks, out in the woods outside of the main body of Duel Academia. "She looked really busy at the time, so I don't know how much she was able to help, but I did what I could at the time, so we'll just have to wait and see."

Judai was the first to respond. "Wow, that was one heck of a weird duel. Who would have thought that a guy like that would be in the Osiris Red dorm?"

"That's actually a very good point Judai." Asuka said, her hand over her chin. "You would really expect Amon Garam to have as many of his students in Obelisk Blue and Ra Yellow as possible, if only to prop up his own prestige, but half of them are in Osiris Red, and only Emi Tanaka was placed in Obelisk Blue."

"Yuuto Inoue, Takara Yoshida, and Hachirou Sasaki." Daichi Misawa Rattled off. "The first one dueled Momiji, the next dueled Junko, and the third one just dueled Momoe."

"Daiki Kobayashi dueled Shou Marufuji, Haruka Endo dueled Misawa, and Shinji Kato dueled Edo Phoenix." Momiji Todo said, recalling the details of each match as he'd been informed of them. "Of all the ones that we've dueled, the deciding factor seems to have been the field spells; Shou and Junko were able to destroy their opponents' field spells, while Momoe's never played his."

"And while she didn't duel against any of us," Junko interjected, "Emi Tanaka did use that Realm of Light card in her duel against Professor Chronos and won her duel, so it definitely fits the pattern."

"So, Judai, Asuka, Rei, and I are the only ones who haven't ended up in a duel with one Amon Garam's chosen duelists." Manjoume mused. "So, I wonder which one of us will end up in a duel against the last of Amon's Osiris Red duelists?"

"Well, Bro and Rei are both in Osiris Red, so they're the most likely if you think about proximity and issues like that." Shou Marufuji said. "Still, it makes you wonder how and why Amon Garam is arranging all these duels like this. In fact, it almost reminds me of something…"

"Wait a minute, eight duelists being pitted against us under seemingly innocuous conditions…isn't this like that Professor Daitokuji guy from your guys's first year here at Duel Academia?" All the third year duelists present found their eyes growing wide with shock at Rei Saotome's mention of their most dangerous enemy.

"Hmm." Edo Phoenix mumbled to himself in thought. "I wasn't here then either, but I've read all about the events and what that man did to you. Is it possible then that he might be using Amon Garam in an elaborate scheme to recreate his old experiments anew?"

"No." Asuka Tenjouin, her voice firm and absolute. "That man is still trapped deep within the bowels of Seto Kaiba's tower; not even Amon Garam's wealth could allow him access to him." Her disposition became cold as the memories of what Daitokuji had done to her, to her brother, settled within her heart once more."

"But Asuka," Judai Yuki said, carefully putting his hand on Asuka's shoulder, "couldn't it be possible for Daitokuji to reach Amon Garam in his dreams, the way the darkness he experimented on could?" At that moment, Asuka froze up, becoming numb. "Asuka?" She pulled away from him.

"I'm sorry everyone. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Asuka walked away from everyone, from Judai, not daring to risk them seeing her face for fear that they might see her thoughts in it. With the memory of what Professor Midori told her about her dreams, and of the duel between her and Daitokuji, it all seemed too much of a coincidence to be denied. And yet, it was all built on phantasms, suppositions, mere wisps that they could not hope to act on without falling into whatever trap Amon Garam had in store for them.

* * *

Amon Garam smiled to himself as he reviewed the results of Hachirou Sasaki's duel with Momoe Hamaguchi. "Four victories so far, three losses…yes, this is definitely within the acceptable limits. Cogito Ergo Sum, you duelists who act on your passions and know not how you are prey to your own hearts, you shall pave the path for me and Echo." He then turned his head and watched Echo as she slept, knowing that her dreams would soon be reality. It brought a smile to his face like nothing else in the world.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hachirou Sasaki's deck is based on Soul Eater, by Ookubo Atsushi, a series that I highly recommend to anyone.


	8. Chapter 8

Overcome, Advancing Rin Ito

"Oi, Rin Ito!" Rei Saotome yelled up at the lone figure on the cliff face that was used by the rock-climbing club. "I've been looking for you all day, so get down here already!" Rei watched as Rin turned her head to look down at her; Rin's face was impassive, hard, somehow aged beyond her age of fifteen. Her body was hard as well, the muscles conveying the sense of an Amazon, and after glaring down at Rei for a moment, she turned her head back and resumed climbing. It was at that moment that Rei noticed that Rin was not making use of the safety equipment; not the rope, the hooks, the buckles, any of it. Rei was about to yell at her for how crazy she was being, but she stifled herself, fearing that she might distract Rin and cause her to plummet, the polar opposite of the result she wanted. So she waited, tense but remembering why she was there to begin with.

Rin Ito crested the cliff face, stood up, and looked down at Rei Saotome. "Well, don't you have something to say? Climb up here and say it." Rei scowled at the stoic tone that Rin was using, but she was not going to be an idiot about this; she took the time to properly and safely secure herself, taking the time each step of the way to make sure that her safety was secure. Finally, she made it to the top.

"All right, Rin." Rei said as she caught her breath. "Amon Garam, you're going to tell me everything about him; what he's really doing here, how he came into contact with Daitokuji, everything."

"Why do you care?"

"Huh?" Rei had anticipated lots of different responses, most involving some flavor of denial, but this…

"What is your motive to find out these answers? What do you hope to gain from those answers? Prestige, praise, recognition?" Rin Ito spoke with a firm staccato, her teeth looking a little sharp to Rei.

"My motive? I'm trying to help my friends, trying to keep something terrible from happening to them. Asuka…she didn't get a wink of sleep last night, I can tell that much, so the sooner she finds out that she doesn't have to worry about that Daitokuji guy coming back, the better." She remembered how sluggish Asuka was earlier today, and how she forced her smile; she remembered how Judai didn't say anything about it, so no one else did. Rei had asked Judai why he hadn't said anything, and he told her…

"Because when Asuka wants our help, she'll let us know; trust me, we've been friends through thick and thin, I know what I'm talking about."

…even so, Rei was not going to sit by and wait any longer. "So either you tell me what I want to know, or I'll make you tell me." Rin walked up to Rei, towering over her.

"No wonder you're still in Osiris Red; without any ambition for yourself, how can you hope to advance?"

"What are you talking about? You're in Osiris Red too!"

"Because I want to achieve my status by my own merits, and that means rising from the lowest rank to the highest, without skipping any steps along the way. Amon Garam might have opened the door for me, but I will tear down every wall before me with my own two hands." Rin turned around and began to walk away. "I've no need to deal with a self-satisfied loser, content to follow behind her friends with no goals of her own."

"Woah, hold on a second there!" Rei was pleased that Rin stopped in her tracks. "I may not care about rising up the dorm rankings, but that doesn't mean I'm a loser, or weak, or whatever else you might think; trust me, the friendships I've forged here are for more real and lasting than any dumb, arbitrary ranking system, even if you are too self-centered to see that. So if you really think you're that much better than me, prove it."

"Hmph, very well; I'll have one last duel before advancing to Ra Yellow tomorrow." Rin Ito turned around, taking a firm stance on the ground as she drew her cards. "You can go first."

"All right, I summon Homunculus the Alchemic Being in attack position, and then I set two cards to end my turn."

"A meager eighteen hundred attack power beast; such a weakling can't hope to advance against my power; first, I discard Destroyersaurus to add the Field Spell card Jurassic World to my hand, and next I play the spell card Fossil Dig, adding the level three Gilasaurus from my deck to my hand. Now, activate, Jurassic World!" The rocky hill was replaced by a lush jungle, sweltering under the heat of the primordial sun.

"Shit, she got her field spell out already?" Rei hoped that despite the conclusions reached yesterday, that this card wouldn't spell out her defeat in this duel.

"So long as this card is on the field, all Dinosaur Monsters will gain three hundred attack points, ensuring that they will always be able to crush your monsters. Now, I activate Gilasaurus's effect, special summoning it to the field." A small dinosaur appeared, about the size of a grown man. "Normally, when special summoned in this fashion, Gilasaurus lets you special summon a monster from your grave, but your grave is empty. And with my normal still available, I sacrifice Gilasaurus to summon Super-Ancient Dinobeast." The new monster that emerged was less like a real dinosaur and more of an idealization of the power they embodied in the collective unconscious.

"A level eight monster that can be summoned with the sacrifice of a single dinosaur, that's quite the monster you have there, Rin Ito; another gift from Amon Garam?" Rei did not flinch as the monster roared, the effect of Jurassic World raising its attack power from 2700 to 3000.

"As I mentioned before," Rin said, her voice unmoved as ever, "Amon Garam merely opened the door for me; this strength is the strength I've claimed for myself. Be witness to it, fool." Super-Ancient Dinobeast roared, and fired a concentrated blast of plasma from its mouth.

"Hah, that triggers my trap card, Clarifying Reflection!" Homunculus took the blast of the attack and contained it within its body. "When a light attribute monster I control is attacked, I can make it so that you take the battle damage instead," Homunculus exploded with a furious roar, directing a terrible lance of light directly into Rin's chest, "And then I can add a level four or lower dark attribute monster from my deck to my hand, so I'll be adding Resonance Reaper to my hand." The shadow of the Homunculus lingered for a moment before gathering into Rei's hand. "And now that my light attribute monster is destroyed and sent to the grave, I can activate Element Renewal, adding the Light attribute Resonance Guide from my deck to my hand." A bang, a flash of light in Rei's hand as the next card appeared in her hand.

"Gather all the weaklings you like. Your weak will can't overcome. I set one card and end my turn."

"Big talk for someone who's getting their ass kicked. Now, I play Fusion, sending Resonance Guide and Resonance Reaper to the grave to summon Resonance Lady of Opposition" She was eight feet tall, powerfully built, clad in a black robed and wielding a shimmering white scythe with two of her four arms, 2400 attack points. "Now, by discarding a monster card from my hand, I can activate her effect and remove a monster in your grave from play, and reduce the attack power of one monster you control by that monster's attack power. So I'll remove your Destroyersaurus and reduce Dinobeast's attack power by eighteen hundred points!" Resonance Lady of Opposition swung her scythe, opening a hole in the world into Rin's grave. "See, that piddling little attack boost from your field spell doesn't mean a thing next to my monster's attack power."

"Trap card activate, Fossil Excavation." Destroyersaurus leaped out of the grave and onto Rin's side of the field. "By discarding a card from my hand, I special summon a Dinosaur monster in my grave to the field in attack position, with its effect negated. Furthermore, this triggers Super-Ancient Dinobeast's effect, allowing me to draw one card. So much for your monster's vaunted effect."

"Oh yeah!" Rei shouted, a little more unnerved than she would have admitted. "Well, I equip Resonance Lady of Opposition with Shining Hope, raising her attack power by five hundred points, and when she destroys a monster by battle I get to draw a card." Even so, at 2900 attack points, Rei's monster was still 100 points too weak, a fact that made her grumble under her breath.

"You understand now. The difference in strength between us. You should give up now, before your weakness if fully exposed."

"Oh no you don't! A real duelist, a true duelist, never gives up, and if you were a strong as you say you are, you wouldn't be asking me to give up either! Resonance Lady of Opposition, attack Destroyersaurus!" Cleaving light from shadow, Resonance Lady of Opposition destroyed Destroyersaurus for 800 points of damage. A new light began to shine in Rei's hand, the card she just drew. "Now I set two cards, and end my turn."

"Sound and fury, Rei. Your efforts signify nothing, because they have no true aim. Without a true, personal stake, beyond vague proclamations of selflessness, you can only ever be weak, crushed by the strong. Super-Ancient Dinobeast, attack Rei's weakling monster." Unlike the last attack, this time Rin's monster walked forward, and bit off the upper half of Resonance Lady of Opposition's body for 100 points of damage.

"And now I activate my trap card, Cry of the Maiden; when a Resonance monster I control is destroyed, I can pay half my life points remove it and all other Resonance Monsters in my grave to special summon from my deck an equal number of Resonance Monsters; I have four in my grave, so that gives me four on the field; Resonance Warrior, Resonance Warden, Resonance Maiden, and Resonance Flora." Fire, Earth, Air, and Water, all were now present on the field. "And now with all this elemental power present on the field, I can activate my trap card Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan and destroy your monster!"

"Wrong." A nimbus of energy suddenly gathered before Rin's monster. "When I destroyed your monster, I fulfilled the condition of my Quick-Spell, Natural Predator; I activate a Normal spell during the battle phase." Rei was struck by a potent concussive force that very nearly bowled her over. "That spell is Dino Blast, which does three hundred points of damage per level of a Dinosaur monster I control." Rei's monsters vanished as her life points dropped to zero. "I will concede that you could be capable of being a dangerous opponent, but your childish immaturity, your inability to seize the opportunities before you, have made you far too weak."

Rei watched as Rin walked away, unable to say anything. "Damn it, if I'd just been able to get rid of that Field Spell card of hers…" She paused, she sighed, she hook her head. "No, I can't make excuses like that." She pulled herself back up, and looked down the edge of the cliff. "Well, I may as well take this opportunity to get some much needed alone time." She sat down, cross-legged, and looked over the view before her, the view of Duel Academia. "Come on Rei, you're smart and determined, you made it into Duel Academia at age twelve, you saved your cousin from himself, so why can't you answer that one stupid question?"

* * *

"And that makes eight." Amon Garam said as he studied the readout of Rin Ito's duel. "And the fifth victory was most decisive indeed. Yes, this phase has been completed to my satisfaction. Tomorrow, Echo." He said to her as she stood at his side, "You and me, we are going to show Duel Academia the truth of its existence."

Echo nodded at her love, and thought of the duelists that she had observed in secret, her presence hidden from them in expert fashion. She saw in their duels the dreams and hopes that dwelled in their hearts, and she knew in hers that none of them could stand before her; her heart, filled Amon's love, would give her the strength to overcome all those who were too ignorant to appreciate what Amon Garam was trying to bring them.

* * *

"Hello everyone, I trust you all had a pleasant Sunday yesterday?" Professor Midori Hibiki said to her third year class, making sure that the memories of last night's dream could not be seen in her eyes. "And I trust that you've all finished your homework on time?"

"Actually," A man's voice called out as the door opened up, "I'm afraid that I missed that assignment."

"You…" Professor Midori covered her mouth as her eyes began to tear up. Judai's head turned instantly from Midori at the sound of the man's voice, the expression on his face showing his shock and disbelief.

"But I'm pretty sure this note from my doctor should excuse my belabored absence from class." The man said with a laugh as he entered the room, the hem of his long red coat almost touching the ground. He adjusted his glasses as he looked from Midori to Judai with a warm smile on his face. "Well, Professor Hibiki? Or is it okay if I'm a little less formal, sis?"

Kouyou Hibiki, three time World Champion of Duel Monsters, was immediately swamped by Judai and Midori as they ran up to him and hugged him tightly.


	9. Chapter 9

Return, The World Champion Kouyou Hibiki

"Woah, I guess you guys really missed me, huh?" Kouyou Hibiki said with a chuckle as he looked down at Judai. "You've grown since the last time I saw you; maybe another couple of years, and I'll be looking up to you." Then he looked to his sister Midori, who was very nearly his own height. "I'm sorry that I interrupted your class, but I really wanted this to be a surprise. You can forgive me for that, right sis?"

Midori pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Of course, brother. Just…when did you wake up?" She couldn't help noticing that he seemed stronger then she could ever remember him being, more full of vitality. Judai then let go of Kouyou and looked up at him with bright, eager, beaming eyes.

"Well, it's a pretty long story, so why don't I go on down to the podium and share it with the whole class; it'll be like I'm a guest speaker! Won't that be more fun than listening to Midori's lecture, Judai?"

"Kouyou." Midori was about to grab her brother by the ear, but stopped herself. "…I'll let you off this one time, so don't abuse it. Besides," she said as she turned to Judai, "you love my lectures, don't you Judai?"

"Well, you do have a way with words, Professor!" It was true; Judai would occasionally nod of in other people's class's, especially Professor Chronos's, but never Midori's.

"I guess that's to be expected." Kouyou gave Midori and Judai firm pats on their backs. "Ah, it's just…so good to see you all again. I mean," He said as he walked down the steps along with Midori and Judai, the eyes of all the students in attendance upon them, "For me it's like I was asleep for a little while, but for you guys its been over seven years." Upon reaching the bottom, he walked over to the podium with Midori, while Judai returned to his seat, right in between Shou and Asuka.

"Bro, you mean, that's your bro?" Shou looked agape at Judai, then at Kouyou as his sister instructed him on how to properly project his voice, and then back at Judai. "Umm, he's not quite how I imagined Bro's bro to be."

"Maybe," Asuka said, her chin in her hand as she looked at the scene playing out before them, of Kouyou and Midori bickering in the affectionate way that brothers and sisters all 'round the world were known to do, "but I can definitely see it, the fun-loving spirit that helped forge Judai into the fine duelist he is today."

"Now," Kouyou said as he cleared his throat, Midori now seated behind her desk, "before I begin, you there, young man." He pointed at Manjoume.

"Yes, Mr. Hibiki?" He spoke very calmly, determined not to embarrass himself.

"I think I remember seeing you in the audience at one of my duels."

"Yes, that's right. You were dueling Daitokuji, and while it took you a while, you crushed him decisively."

"Hmm, Daitokuji…ah, that's right, Midori mentioned that man named Daitokuji was also going to be a professor here at Duel Academia; tell me, how's he…" Kouyou noticed a dark spirit, a shadowed murmur spread among the students, none of them able to look directly at him or anyone else.

"Brother, that's a long and complicated story; I'd recommend that you move on to your original topic."

"Ah, yes!" Kouyou cleared his throat once more, starting anew. "You see, everyone, I've always been in poor health; I would spend so much time in the hospital for one reason or another, that it was nigh-impossible for me to have any sort of career. But, during one trip to the hospital, more than ten years ago, me and my sister, we saw something on the TV that would change everything for us forever."

"Battle City." Momiji said, carefully noting every detail of Kouyou's speech into his memories.

"Yes, with Seto Kaiba's invention of the Duel Disc, the game of Duel Monsters became a spectator sport that could be played by anyone, given skill and money; physical capabilities were near irrelevant. Of course, I was surprised by how vivid the Solid Vision impacts were, but compared to the physical or mental strain of any other professional endeavor available to me, it was well within my ability to handle. A few years after that, I met Judai at the hospital I was staying at; it seemed he broke his leg after he fell from a tree he was climbing. Apparently there was this adorable little kitten in the tree, and Judai was so worried about it, he forgot to make sure he had proper footing!"

"Really?" Momoe said as she snickered to Junko.

"Apparently. We better make sure that something about that gets into the yearbook."

"Judai Yuki, cat lover?" Misawa mused to himself. "I suppose I can see it."

"Unfortunately, after a nasty collapse in the middle of a tournament, I became worried that I would miss out on the chance to give Judai the duel he deserved, with my real deck. So I arranged it with the hospital staff, and with my sister's consent, we had a grand duel on the rooftop. I won of course, as I always did, but it was one of the most fun duels I had ever had."

"And then, as I felt the coma begin to take hold, of my consciousness fading, I felt one pang of regret that resonated through the whole of my being. And when I awoke, about a month ago, I was determined to fulfill that regret that still lingered in my heart. The doctors wanted to inform my sister right away of course, but I insisted; we didn't know at the time whether my condition would prove stable, and I didn't want to raise and crush hers or Judai's hopes in the same motion. So they studied, probed, and examined, careful to make sure that they missed nothing, and so yesterday they gave me a clean bill of health. After that, it was a simple matter to arrive at Duel Academia discretely, and to ask my sister to duel me."

"Kouyou, you still want to defeat me, don't you?" Midori stood up and faced her brother.

"Yep; I never did defeat you, even after winning my third World Champion tournament, and I think it would be nice if I could win against you, just one time. So what do you say, sister?"

"…I say that this classroom will be far too small a venue for duelists of our caliber to face each other."

* * *

"Welcome, everyone, to a duel without compare!" Principal Samejima addressed the entire student body, every seat occupied and them some. "We are all of us familiar with our Professor Midori, one of the most exceptional duelists I have had ever had the pleasure of meeting, and I can safely say that without her, Duel Academia would not be here today."

"You ain't kidding, Principal Samejima." Rei said, remembering full and well Professor Hibiki's actions leading up to her duel against Mizuchi, and while now they were good friends and colleagues, she knew in her heart with absolute certainty that messing with Judai was a death sentence.

"But we must not forget her equally famous younger brother, Kouyou Hibiki, who in addition to being a three-time world champion, was here at Duel Academia when the very foundation was being laid, his role in our esteemed institution's history equally notable."

"Yes, I think I remember reading about that." Edo Phoenix said as he applauded along with everyone else, remembering his parents mentioning Kouyou years ago, and telling him that they looked forward to the day that he would defeat the world champion. The memory still pained his heart a little, but he swore that he would not be defeated it, not so long as Shinji Kato still threatened Takuma and Mizuhi Saiou.

"Now, after all these years, the Hibiki siblings have been reunited, and their duelist spirits call out to each other, demanding battle, and we are here today, to provide them the stage and audience commensurate to that duel!" And indeed, Kouyou and Midori stood atop the Duel Academia Duel Tower, used once before in the Whim of Fate tournament two years prior.

"Well Brother, are you sure about this? Judai's increased the power of your original deck greatly." Midori said with a confident smile; it had been years since she'd dueled her brother, but those were always the best duels, the most fun duels she had ever been in.

"No, that's okay; I acquired a new deck while I was recovering in the hospital, and I think that pitting it against the strongest duelist I know is the one true way to bring out its full power." He stood opposite to her, his red coat billowing in the wind. He looked so happy to be there, so alive in a way that he hadn't been in years. "You should go first, it's the privilege of the champion after all."

"All right, Kouyou, let's begin this duel!" A thunderous roar leaped up from the audience as the duelists drew their cards.

"Hmm, so now we get to see them in action, the Hibiki siblings." Amon Garam mused to himself as he and Midori stood in the shadows. "You're the best duelist I know, Echo; who do you think is going to win."

She gazed up in silence at Kouyou and Midori, her grip on Amon's hand incredibly tight.

"I see, I'll just have to wait then." In that moment, Midori Hibiki started her turn.

"Now, Kouyou, I begin by setting four cards, and then I summon Fallen Angel Amon in defense position to end my turn." The clawed angel, it's raven's head cawing to reveal the fanged teeth of the hound, stood defensively before Midori.

"Ah, you're most certainly taking this duel seriously, Midori; to summon a monster on your first turn, that's the kind of prudence you only use against a duelist you know you can't afford to take chances with." He smiled as he drew the next card of his deck. "And I can feel it, my soul and this deck are uniting in their desire to overcome. I play my spell card, Card Destruction, forcing us both to discard and draw our hands." As they did so, two more cards appeared in Midori's hand.

"Unfortunately, the card you just had me discard was Fallen Angel Forneus, and I activated its effect to add Fallen Angel Caim and Fallen Angel Forneus to my hand." She grinned at her brother, chuckled even.

"Ah, but I couldn't hope for anything more! This is exactly why I could never defeat you; no matter what strategy I came up with, your Fallen Angels always responded with equal force, overcoming my Elemental Heroes. So now I play my spell card, The One and Only."

Midori watched with concern and confusion; she'd never heard of that card, and could only begin to guess at its power.

"Now, I discard my hand, and then I choose one card from my deck to add to my hand." His hand was virtually empty, all his hopes pinned on this one card that he'd expended so much power to add to his hand. "Now, since I have no cards on the field, and no other cards in my hand, I can activate my card's effect, and special summon it to the field."

Water began to splash onto the field in huge quantities, kicking up bubbles of incredible size. The water cleared to reveal a figure clad in a sea-blue suit, water hoses running along the length of his right arms and legs that, coming to a point of a hose, and on his back were a pair a pair of water tanks pinning down a white cape. The figure's eyes were covered by an elaborate visor as he struck a noble salute.

"Elemental Hero…Bubbleman?" Midori's confusion echoed that of the audience's, most notably Judai's. "That was one of the cards that Judai used in his final duel against you."

"Yes, it was, but I think I've worked out a few new tricks with it; for example, since I control no other cards and have no other cards in my hand, I can activate Bubbleman's effect and drew two new ones. And with my normal summon still available to me, I summon Elemental Hero Prisma to the field." A crystalline figure that refracted the light that passed through it, huge shimmering wings made of the same crystal coming out of its back like some manner of angel. "And with Prisma's effect, I can send a monster from my deck to my grave and have Prisma acquire that monster's name and form, all so long as I have an appropriate fusion monster in my fusion deck for my monster to serve as the material for. So for this, I send Elemental Hero Featherman from my deck to the grave."

A green light began to fill Elemental Hero Prisma, changing it. Green fur grew along the extremes of its arms and legs, a great red claw appearing on its right arm. Green wings with white feathers sprouted out, and green mask to compliment the green of its outfit, Elemental Hero Featherman.

"And now the time has come, the materials are gathered, all that is left is to break down and re-forge my monsters, allowing them to attain a strength far beyond that of a pure hearted hero who only walks in the light."

"Brother?" Midori gazed intently at him, but she could see no influence of the shadows in him, there was no darkness dominating his soul.

"I now activate my spell card, Dark Fusion!"

A towering lightning bolt crashed down from the heavens as a storm of incomparable strength howled into being. Featherman and Bubbleman were swept up into that storm and trapped within clouds of infinite darkness, crushed by the roiling energies that boiled within. Then an earsplitting shriek echoed as the storm was split in half, revealing a new monster that had never been seen before; it was lithe figure clad from head to toe in light aquamarine armor, it possessed sadistic looking claws and fangs, and it…no, her face was drawn in such a joyous grin that it made Midori shiver at the sight of it.

"Behold, my new monster, Evil Hero Sea Devil." As Kouyou spoke, Evil Hero Sea Devil flicked her right hand out, digging a deep gouge into the ground. "She certainly seems eager for battle, doesn't she?"

"…What is this, Kouyou? An Evil Hero? What sort of childishness is this?" A deep frown was upon her face, her expression dour.

"Ah, you wound me, dear sister!" Kouyou said, almost bowled over by Midori's words. "You summon Fallen Angels, so why can't I summon a fallen hero to battle against you? Doesn't that strike you as just the least little bit hypocritical?"

"Not really; Fallen Angels are prominent and important figures of Christian Mythology; 'Evil Heroes' are at best gimmicks that recur in comic books every few decades in an attempt to conflate 'dark and edgy' with 'mature and serious'. You never cared about trends like that before, and I don't see how your heart could have changed for you to value such immaturity over the true fun of a true duel."

"Hmm, I've got to admit, you do have something of a point my sister. But I think if you give them a chance, you'll see that there's more to my new monsters than just a superficial edginess."

"No, I don't think I'll be giving you that chance, my brother." Midori snapped her fingers, and a black bolt of lightning smashed down into Evil Hero Sea Devil.

"Ah, you would have that trap set against me, wouldn't you Midori?" Kouyou smiled as his monster casually smacked the black lighting away, unharmed. In that moment, a dark aura could be seen surrounding the Evil Hero Sea Devil. "Unfortunately, in the turn that my monster is summoned by Dark Fusion, it can't be targeted by spell, trap, or monster effects. Furthermore, Sea Devil has a few effects of her own; when you control spells or traps on your side of the field, she can attack you directly."

Evil Hero Sea Devil leaped through the air, resembling nothing so much as a shark swimming through the ocean, chasing after the scent of blood. Her claws dug deep into Midori's abdomen, dealing the full extent of her 1400 attack points as damage to her.

"What is this?" Midori felt a sudden pain filling her chest, but it was nothing like the psychic torments that Daitokuji and Mizuchi used in their Duels of Darkness.

"Sorry about that Midori," He said with what sounded to her like genuine worry, "But I'm going to have to ask you to bear with me for a little while longer; if its any consolation, you can damage me the same way if you'd like." He had a wary smile on his face, but he hardened himself in the next moment. "Now, since Evil Hero Sea Devil has successfully attacked directly, I can activate her effect and destroy every spell and trap card you control, and for every card so destroyed in this fashion, my monster gains three hundred attack points."

Evil Hero Sea Devil dug her claws into Midori's traps, tearing them to shreds; she gathered that energy into her body, raising her strength considerably. Upon returning to Kouyou's side of the field, she had 2300 attack points. "That concludes my turn, Midori." At that moment, Evil Hero Sea Devil's dark aura dissipated, the power of Dark Fusion leaving her.

"…I don't know just yet what you're trying to do, Kouyou, but let me tell you one thing." Midori stood back up, and grinned eagerly at her brother. "The only pain you'll be feeling is from the Solid Vision, nothing else. Now, I sacrifice Fallen Angel Amon to summon Fallen Angel Beelzebub, activating Amon's effect to draw one card." The demonic angel fell, and in his place stood the Lord of the Flies, who was yet 100 attack points short of defeating the empowered Evil Hero Sea Devil. "Now I play True Angel; when I control a Fallen Angel of level five or above, I can discard two Fallen Angel cards in my hand and draw four cards."

"Ah, and after all the trouble I went through to eliminate your back-row. Even so, you won't be able to rest on your usual strategy of reaction against me now, Midori." He couldn't help but smile in pride at his opponent; Midori could see herself reflected in his eyes, and she seemed a pillar of strength in them.

"Indeed you're right Kouyou, so I'll activate Angelic Slaughter; by discarding a Fallen Angel with a greater attack power than your monster's I can destroy that monster, so I discard Fallen Angel Superbia." The angel with the black raven wings appeared only for a moment, but its unholy cry was enough to command the Sea Devil into the depths of hell. "Now you have nothing left to stop me, so I attack directly with Fallen Angel Beelzebub!" Beelzebub raised his staff on high and shook it, the rattling of human skulls summoning a plague of flies to attack Kouyou. In addition to dealing 2200 points of damage, Beelzebub's effect caused the top four cards of Kouyou's deck to be sent to the grave. "Now I set one card, and end my turn."

"It was just like you said Midori, just the power of the Solid Vision itself." Kouyou dusted himself off, cleaning his coat of the residue left by the virtual flies. "Even so, I won't hold back; this duel is too important for me to withhold any of my strength. Please remember that, my sister." As he drew his next card, his graveyard began to glow. "Now, for the second effect of The One and Only; when it is in my grave, and there are at least ten other cards in my grave with it, I can activate its effect during my standby phase, and add another card from my deck to my hand. Now, I will play that card, Dark Calling!"

A demonic claw reached up from out of the ground, reaching through a portal to hell. In that giant claw were two figures, Elemental Hero Sparkman, and Elemental Hero Clayman. "By removing these two monsters from play, I can summon another hero infused by the power of light, walking the twilight path of justice. Behold!" The claw crushed down on the two heroes, silencing their cries of pain instantly, and when it opened up once more, a huge, giant, muscular figure leaped out, his raiment dark purple and green and decorated with large shoulder spikes. "Once per turn, Evil Hero Lightning Golem can destroy one monster on the field, and Dark Calling provides the same temporary protection as Dark Fusion did, so this will be going through uninterrupted."

Indeed, it was as Kouyou said; the imperious bolt of lightning that the Evil Hero called down upon Beelzebub was immutable, obliterating every last buzzing bit of the Fallen Angel's body. Then Midori snapped her finger, the light now shimmering all around her body.

"Because my Fallen Angel was destroyed and sent to the grave, I can activate my trap card, Recursive Mirror, activating the effect of a trap card in my grave; I will activate the effect of the second trap card you destroyed, Another Path, and special summon Fallen Angel Superbia from my grave, and with Superbia's effect I also special summon Fallen Angel Caim from my grave as well!" Black feathers unfurled in the wind, tracing out the patterns of intricate runic arrays, and the two Fallen Angels emerged, distinctly unimpressed by the opponent before them.

"Oh, how exhilarating!" Kouyou cried out as he thrust his arms out. "Just as I think I'm on the verge of making some progress, my sister reveals yet more of her strength! Ah, this is what a duel is truly meant to be, an ever escalating battle with only pride on the line. But I assure you, Midori, I will turn this around; this time, I will emerge victorious! I set one card and end my turn."

"Very well, Kouyou." There was still a minor pang in her chest, but it was a tiny thing compared to the moment, seeing her brother so full of vigor and vitality, even more eager for the duel than ever before. "Let's see how well you can meet this challenge before you; Fallen Angel Caim, attack Evil Hero Lightning Golem!" Caim struck with swift and absolute certainty, decapitating Lightning Golem as though slicing a leaf in half, clean and neat. The runes of Caim's great sword glowed, restoring Midori's life points in proportion to the damage done to Kouyou, 600 points.

"Unfortunately, that activates a little trap of my own, Cruel Mask." A bizarre and twisted visage sealed itself over Fallen Angel Superbia's 'face'. "When an Evil Hero I control is destroyed by battle, I target one monster you control, and reduce its attack power by the destroyed Heroe's attack power. Furthermore, I am then allowed to special summon two Elemental Heroes from my grave, so long as their combined attack power does not exceed that of the destroyed Evil Heroes; come forth, Elemental Heroes Featherman and Burst Lady!"

"Hmm, that was very clever of you Kouyou." She knew that he was going to try to summon some 'Evil Hero' variant of Judai's old 'Elemental Hero Flame Wingman'. Fortuantely, she was prepared. "I set one card, and end my turn." She knew that with her trap card, she'd be able to block Kouyou's attack and retrieve Fallen Angel Desire, completing her victory. She felt a little sorry that Kouyou still wouldn't win after all these years, but the duel was so much fun, she had already forgotten the pain that resided in the back of her mind.

"All right, my turn Midori." For a brief moment, as he drew his card, Midori could see a look of relief on his face.

"And now, during your standby phase, I activate my trap card Folded Wings." Vast, ratty looking blackwings enveloped Midori and her monsters like a great shield. "By discarding a Fallen Angel from my hand, you'll be forced to skip your battle phase this turn, and if you special summon a monster, I can add a Fallen Angel of my choice from my deck to my hand."

"I see, and you intend to obtain Fallen Angel Desire in this fashion, eliminating whatever I do manage to summon? While I know that would be an incredible conclusion to this duel, I have something far more grand in mind; now, with the effect of The One and Only in my grave, I add another Dark Fusion to my hand, and activate it, sending Burst Lady and Featherman to the grave to summon Evil Hero Inferno Wing!" Once more the storm employed its infinite dark powers to combine Kouyou's monsters, birthing a creature not unlike Midori's fallen angels; ashen grey wings, huge claws, and a sadistic grin speaking to its 2100 attack points.

"With that special summon, I now add Fallen Angel Desire to my hand."

"Ah, but if you never get the chance to play it, then it can't help you; since I control an Evil Hero on the field, I can summon Evil Hero Hell Traitor from my hand." A lanky, twisted figure emerged, giggling manically and spinning a pair of barbed knives in its hands. "Now, I sacrifice Evil Hero Hell Traitor to return a spell card and a monster card from my grave back to my hand, so I'll take Dark Fusion and Elemental Hero Necro-Darkman from my grave and add them back to my hand, and play Dark Fusion once more!"

"What!" Midori watched as the Evil Hero fused with the Elemental Hero, becoming something far, far beyond either of their prior existences. The new monster resembled Inferno Wing, but now with a carapace of red bones, and the wings were now made of black fire.

"Yes, this is an advanced Fusion summon, the kind that takes a great deal of effort to set up, but it is worth it, as you are about to see; first, Evil Hero Blasphemous Inferno Wing starts at twenty-five hundred attack points, but gains three hundred for every Elemental Hero and Evil Hero in my grave; there are eleven, so that raises her attack power to fifty-eight hundred." Her wings grew in intensity and size, becoming a veritable inferno in name and deed.

"Even so, you still can't attack." Midori knew there had to be something more, but she couldn't see it.

"Which is why Evil Hero Blasphemous Inferno Wing's second effect is so useful; once per turn, she can skip her own battle phase and destroy all the opponent's monsters, so long as their combined attack power does not exceed her own; a condition that holds true thanks to Cruel Mask, and when your monsters are destroyed, you take damage equal to their combined attack power! Go forth my monster, be the herald that ends the old age, obliterate Midori's monsters with Hellstorm Curse!"

Midori could see it; even though his face and manor were manic, Kouyou's eyes were so sorrowful, as though begging her forgiveness. As the black fire consumed her monsters and her life points, she felt that initial pain from Kouyou's first attack magnify itself one hundred fold. It was becoming very difficult to breathe, as though her lungs no longer listened to the commands of her brain. Her vision began to fade, and in those moments Midori saw Kouyou walk up to her, smiling such a sad smile it would have broken her heart if she could still feel it.

"Please, bear with me, Midori; know that what I do, I do for Judai." She felt herself fading away, but she smiled; her brother might have been a pain at times, not listening to her when he knew she was right, but she could feel that this was only a temporary change. As she recalled the dream that had haunted her nights, and realized its true meaning, she whispered a silent prayer.

"Judai, please, believe in Kouyou." With that, her eyes closed.

* * *

"MIDORI!" Judai yelled out as he ran to the elevator to the duel tower, all others in his sight little more than indistinct blurs. "YOU BASTARD, WHAT DID YOU DO TO MIDORI!"


	10. Chapter 10

Broken, Desperate Judai Yuki

"Everyone remain calm!" Principal Saemejima yelled as her students became frantic, all yelling out questions, theories, and some just running around in a blind panic, all in fear that Midori's collapse signaled a terrible attack. "Everyone, gather together with the Professors and leave a clear path for the medical staff and Emi Ayukawa!" This time, she was able to draw upon enough authority in her voice that the students listened, and while still disorganized, they moved under a guided purpose. All except for Judai and his friends, who acted on their own.

"Judai, wait up!" Asuka ran out of the crowd after practically clawing her way out, almost unable to believe how swiftly Judai had acted in the face of Professor Hibiki's collapse. She was quickly followed by Shou and Manjoume, and the others weren't far behind, all of them intent on rushing to their friend's aid. The closer Asuka got to Judai, who was banging his fist against the elevator as though this could command it to descend any faster, the hazier her vision became; she couldn't hold back the memories that rushed through her mind, the feelings that surfaced in her heart, the same feelings and thoughts she'd felt when Fubuki had gone missing. She reached Judai, and could feel those same feelings rolling off of him in waves, see the pain twisting about in his heart as he struggled to keep it from destroying him before he could even do anything.

She also knew about the dreams that Midori had told her about, but dared not bring that up to Judai.

"Asuka…" Judai said, his breathing haggard, his chest visibly tightening up, "Shou, everyone…" The elevator dinged as the door opened up, oblivious to the tone of the environment around it. "That man…he's not Kouyou." He stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to close the door, but Asuka put her hand out to stop it.

"Judai, I know exactly what you're going through." She reached out to him, put her hand on his heart.

"We all do Bro." Shou joined in the same gesture, and soon everyone crowded in, looking very undignified but not caring about petty concerns like that.

"You guys…" It was difficult, but Judai found himself able to breathe again, his lungs able to operate a little closer to normal. "Just, just make sure that Amon, wherever he is, that he doesn't get away, he's a part of this too, I know it."

"Don't worry Judai." Asuka hugged him tightly, embracing him, trying to take as much of his pain as she could into her own heart. "When we're all working together, you know there's nothing that can stop us." She let him go and looked him in the eye, seeing that there was still that unique light of optimism in them. It wasn't certainty, but it would be enough, this she knew to be true.

Judai pushed the button again, and the doors sealed shut, and he felt the elevator rise up with great speed. "Thank you, Asuka." He saw it in her eyes, the reflection of the pain she'd felt when her brother went missing in their first year. "This time, things will be different; he won't be allowed to get away with it this time, I promise." He looked down at his deck, his weapon in the upcoming battle, and he knew that the power that dwelled within it would surpass anything that that…that monster could throw at him.

"Ah, welcome Judai; it's been a while since our last duel, hasn't it?" The elevator doors opened, and that was what Judai heard, coming from the man who dared to wear Kouyou's face, making it smile in that somber fashion, a smile that told lies that Judai wanted to believe in.

"Shut up Daitokuji!" Judai walked out, feeling his blood boil more and more the closer he got to that monster who dared to call himself a man. "Don't think you can trick me; it doesn't take special powers or supernatural wisdom, or anything like that, to see who you really are!" He walked up to where Midori's body was lying; she looked so peaceful, still, yet happy somehow, the way Kouyou did while he was…still was in his coma. Judai picked her up as best he could, taking her back to the elevator to speed her back to Emi Ayukawa's care.

"You've grown to be a very caring young man, Judai." Judai glared back at him, but his expression didn't change. "And even though you've yet to win a tournament of your own, you are still one of the premier duelists of Duel Academia. I wish I could show you how proud that makes me feel."

"I thought I told you to shut up, Daitokuji." Judai marched back to him, arming his duel disc as he walked. "I don't know how you escaped from Kaiba Corp, I don't know how you disguised yourself as Kouyou, but if you don't stop it right now, if you don't show your true self right now…" Judai focused himself, stopped the shaking in his fist. "I'll stop you right here and now, before you can get any further with your mad experiments!"

"…I understand, Judai." 'Kouyou' calmly armed his duel disc. "I knew that you would find it hard to believe, but know that when the duel is over, you will know that I am Kouyou Hibiki, and what I am doing, I'm doing for you."

"Fine! If you're going to keep lying, then don't be surprised when I defeat you!" The wind howled all around the two duelists, the clouds above dancing furiously in the sky. "I start by activating Magician's Archive to add E-Emergency Call from my deck to my hand, and then I activate that to add Elemental Hero Stratos from my deck to my hand, and I summon that to the field to add Elemental Hero Voltic from my deck to my hand. Now I'll set two cards, and end my turn."

"That's a very confident opening play Judai, just like last time." For a moment, as the imposter's words rang in his ears, Judai felt as though he was a child again, looking up at Kouyou on top of the hospital; he'd just used Bubble Shuffle to switch Kouyou's Elemental Hero Voltic to defense position and bring out Elemental Hero Edgeman, only to be blocked by Kouyou's facedown Hero Barrier. Judai forced the memory out of his mind. "Hopefully this time, you'll be better prepared, Judai."

Judai didn't know what he had expected; as soon as he decided that this man, this being that looked and sounded like Kouyou, was not Kouyou, he knew that he might see or hear anything. But he hadn't expected to feel this, that spirit of infectious fun that he learned from Kouyou. "However you found out about that duel, it won't help you. Take your turn!"

"All right Judai; just remember, so long as you believe in your heart, you will win. Now, since I control no monsters, I can special summon Evil Hero Hell Brat from my hand." A flash of black light, and a tiny, implike figure appeared on the field, preening with a puerile sense of self-superiority. "Furthermore, since you control a monster Judai, I only need one sacrifice to bring out Elemental Hero Malicious Edge." An implosion of light, and the imp was replaced by a blue figure covered in spikes and blades. "Now, Malicious Edge, attack and reveal Judai's true power!"

True to its name, the Evil Hero's attack was malicious, targeting Stratos's throat for 800 points of damage. "But now I can activate Hero Signal, to special summon Elemental Hero Ocean from my deck in defense position!" A geyser of water signaled the hero's arrival to the field.

"Very good Judai, but keep in mind that Malicious Edge can inflict damage, even when battling a monster in defense position. And now I'll set two cards to end my turn, and since I sacrificed Hell Brat for the summon of a Hero monster, I can draw one card during my end phase."

"A twenty-six hundred attack power monster that penetrates defense…" Judai knew it wouldn't be easy to overcome that kind of opposition, but he'd faced worse than that before…and besides, he…he looked forward to figuring out how he was going to do it this time; after all, this time he was the one using Kouyou's deck, the deck that he'd made his own over the years.

As Judai thought of this, the visceral memory of his last duel with Kouyou returned; Kouyou summoned Elemental Hero Heat, whose effect raised its attack power to 2000, then he activated Hero Pressure to reduce Edgeman's attack power to 2000 as well; however, Kouyou opted to attack with Voltic, who was equipped with Voltic Spear, opening a direct attack for Elemental Hero Heat, dealing 1800 points of damage.

"Enough Daitokuji! Your tricks, your illusions, they won't work on me! During my standby phase I activate Elemental Hero Ocean's effect and return Elemental Hero Stratos from my grave to my hand, and now I summon him back to the field, activating his effect to add Elemental Hero Woodsman to my hand. Now I'll set one card, and end my turn."

"Ah, trying to assemble the materials to summon Elemental Hero The Earth, are you?" 'Kouyou' smiled warmly, laughed mirthfully. "Ah, but you know that that's just the first step, right? I can't wait to see it Judai, Elemental Hero Heaven and Earth, the one monster I was never able to summon."

"Wha…" Judai refused to let himself be suckered into Daitokuji's sick, twisted mind game; he was able to impersonate Kouyou to this extent, he could have found out about that too, it didn't prove anything! "Whatever! I don't care how much planning you put into this, there's no way you can trick me into thinking that you're the real Kouyou Hibiki!"

"…Midori believed me." He looked over to her, such a somber look on his face. "Even as she fell under, she understood exactly what was happening and held no anger in her heart, even though she would have been fully justified in doing so. We're such lucky little brothers, aren't we, that we have such an understanding and powerful older sister to watch out for us." He sighed wistfully. "Even with the effect of The One and Only in my grave, my final turn came down to the luck of the draw, but it was at least one time I was able to win against her."

"She…she's stronger than you realize! She, she let you think you had her fooled, I know it!"

"Maybe this turn, you will accept the truth Judai; you have to eventually, or else you will never win. I now summon Evil Hero Hell Gainer to the field." A demonic figure with four glowing red eyes appeared, wearing pieces of chitenous purple armor over exposed muscle tissue. "Now, by removing Hell Gainer from play, I grant Malicious Edge the ability to attack twice during the battle phase." An aura of fire now surrounded Malicious Edge, filling it with vicious energy. "So first thing's first, I'm going to eliminate Elemental Hero Ocean."

In that moment, as Malicious Edge charged forward, Judai saw Elemental Hero Inferno about to incinerate his defense position Elemental Hero Featherman; only his Negate Attack trap card saved him then. In the present duel, he didn't have that card set, but he was still prepared.

"I activate Hero Barrier, negating your attack!" A clash of thunder and force, Malicious Edge was stymied, but only for a moment. But as he began his second attack, "Now I activate Staunch Defender, changing your attack target to Elemental Hero Stratos!" Elemental Hero Stratos flew in front of Elemental Hero Ocean, refusing to give any ground even as Evil Hero Malicious Edge tore him apart for the second time, dealing another 800 points of damage to Judai.

"Excellent Judai!" Kouyou said, his enthusiasm infecting his voice. "That was really good, a wonderful combo that keeps you ahead of the game."

"Do you really think so, Kouyou?" Judai said with a tone of childish glee that harkened back to the last duel, of seeing Kouyou and Midori bicker even as they tried to encourage him. Then he noticed what he'd said, what he'd called his opponent, and it filled him with disgust. "I mean…I don't care what you think, Daitokuji!" Judai could have sworn he saw his opponent injured by his words, but he refused to let himself believe it, the man was made of nothing but lies after all! "I'm going to defeat you here and now, because even if you have Kouyou's face and voice, his heart resides in my deck, and that's something you can't ever fake no matter what!"

"Good, you've figured that much out. Midori and the other professors here have taught you well Judai. Now, show it to me, put your words into practice, give me the duel that I know you can, Judai."

"You asked for it Daitokuji!" In the past, he'd used Flame Wingman and Skyscraper to overcome Kouyou's Elemental Hero Inferno, but now he had an even more devastating combo in mind. "I return Elemental Hero Stratos to my hand and summon him to the field to add Elemental Hero Knopse to my hand, and then I activate Hero's Bond to special summon Woodsman and Knopse from my hand to the field, and now I activate Fusion Pass." Judai watched the five cards sent from his deck to the grave carefully; A Hero Emerges, A Hero Arrives, Winged Kuriboh Level Nine, King of the Swamp, and Elemental Hero Lady Heat. "Now I'll use King of the Swamp and Lady Heat as the materials to summon Elemental Hero Great Tornado, whose effect will reduce Malicious Edge's attack power by half!" Fierce winds sheared the edges away from the Evil Hero's blades, blunting them. "Now, Great Tornado, destroy Malicious Edge and show this imposter for who he really is!"

Judai could feel it, the passion of the moment, the drive for victory, and he could not deny that part of it was pure joy that came from the duel itself. Still, in the wake of the 1300 points of damage, 'Kouyou' didn't seem at all disturbed.

"Yes, Judai, I knew you could do it; one of the most powerful and devastating combos of my deck, and you overcame it. You're almost there, almost ready."

"Ready? For what?" Something was off, something was wrong; why hadn't Daitokuji dropped the act yet? He knew that he wasn't fooling him, all he was doing was trying and failing to desecrate Kouyou's name!

"When the duel is over, you'll know. But for now, I activate my trap cards, two Hero Signals, allowing me to special summon Clayman and Burst Lady from my deck in defense position."

As the two monsters formed on the field, Burst Lady was swiftly destroyed, but Clayman's defenses were too much for Judai's monsters. Even so, with Elemental Hero Knopse's effect he was able to attack directly for another 600 points of damage. "My turn is over…" Judai caught himself as he was about to say 'Kouyou', and stopped short. No matter what, so long as his heart constricted at the thought of Midori never waking up again, he couldn't let himself believe.

"And now I play my spell card The Warrior Returning Alive, adding Elemental Hero Burst Lady back to my hand, and now I play Dark Fusion, sending Burst Lady from my hand, and Clayman from my field to the grave, to summon Evil Hero Hell Sniper." A large, Amazonian woman with long black hair and her right arm converted into a terrible, hellish gun. "Next, I summon Evil Hero Hell Temptress and equip her to Hell Sniper." A very tall woman appeared, built to allure and a face that dismissed all who answered her call, marred only by the horns that spoke of her diabolic nature. She wrapped herself about Hell Sniper, supporting her. "In this fashion, Hell Temptress will prevent Hell Sniper from being destroyed by battle, and Hell Sniper's effect will keep it from being destroyed by spell cards. Furthermore, while in defense position, Hell Sniper can attack directly for half her attack value. In this fashion, I have an invincible wall that can wear you down, Judai."

Hell Sniper raised her arm and fired, shooting directly at Judai's heart. He felt that blast attempting to knock him off his feet, but he refused to give in; Midori hadn't, and he wouldn't let her down, not after all the times she came through for him!

"You might think that you have an invincible monster now…but if you really were the real Kouyou, you'd no there was no such thing as invincible! I activate Ocean's effect to return Stratos to my hand, and at the same time I activate Woodsman's effect to add Fusion from my deck to my hand. Now, during my main phase I summon Elemental Hero Stratos one more time, but this time I activate his other effect and destroy your Hell Temptress, which is acting as an Equip Spell!" Drawing on all the strength of his fellow heroes, Stratos was able to destroy Hell Temptress with the fury of the thunders. "And now I activate Fusion, sending Ocean and Woodsman to the grave to summon Elemental Hero The Earth!"

A thunderous crash as The Earth struck the ground, creating huge cracks in the process. It looked upon Kouyou, and it seemed as though a sad fondness crossed its face. "Wha…" Judai shook his head, refusing to give up his determination, "Now I activate H-Heated Heart, increasing The Earth's attack power by five hundred points and giving him the ability to penetrate defense, and now I sacrifice all of my heroes to The Earth, increasing his attack power to a total of eight thousand!" Elemental Hero The Earth became the center of a white hot inferno, as though a second sun on earth. "Now attack, and end this duel!"

As he spoke, Judai remembered the moment in his last duel with Kouyou when he'd thought he'd won; he'd destroyed Kouyou's last remaining monster with Elemental Hero Thunder Giant's effect and attacked directly; only Kouyou's face down Hero Spirit saved him, giving him the opportunity to win. But Judai had taken care of that this time, this imposter had nothing left that could save him.

But as he watched Elemental Hero The Earth overwhelmed Evil Hero Hell Sniper in a fire storm of pure hot-bloodedness, Kouyou's life points and his monster remained untouched.

"Woah, how'd you do that!" Judai couldn't help himself; after all these years, even in a moment like this, he couldn't help being excited by a turn like this, even under such dire circumstances.

"It was because you destroyed Hell Temptress while it was equipped to Hell Sniper; because of that, all my battle damage this turn is reduced to zero, and I was able to remove her from play to keep Hell Sniper on the field. But there is a cost; you get to draw two cards at the end of your battle phase."

"An effect like that…and you didn't tell me…" Try as he might, Judai could not stop his own thoughts as they ran through his mind; was it really possible for someone to be emulating Kouyou's style of dueling, of his speech and beliefs, so completely after all? Judai drew his cards, and saw that he had the means to prove it all, one way or another.

"All right…first I activate Fifth Hope, returning Stratos, Ocean, Woodsman, Knopse, and Lady Heat to my deck to draw two cards. Next, I activate Fusion Gate, and now I remove Elemental Hero The Earth from play, along with Kuriboh and Winged Kuriboh in my hand, and summon the final, ultimate monster of this deck, the deck the real Kouyou Hibiki entrusted to me, Elemental Hero Heaven and Earth!" Light shined down from the heavens, the Earth received it, and the union of these two powers became Elemental Hero Heaven and Earth. As Judai watched, he remembered the moment at the end of last year when Asuka gave him Kuriboh, saying he'd finally earned it.

"Judai…you did it!" Kouyou applauded with such eager honesty and joy, that Judai knew it to be true; he knew that no one could fake that, no one could pretend to see the hopes of their heart come to life. "Of course, I knew you'd done it, but seeing for myself, here and now, it lets me know for myself that you can do it Judai, that you can fulfill my hopes and dreams for you."

"Kouyou…" Judai could feel the tears welling up in his eyes as so many different conflicting feelings swam about in his heart, fighting and vying for dominance. "Why…why did you do that to Midori? I don't understand."

"You will Judai. You know I would never do anything to hurt you or our sister, right? But sometimes we have to do things we don't want to, in order to do right by our loved ones. So please Judai, continue this duel; I know that you've been having a hard time of it, but I've been enjoying it so much, I almost don't want it to end."

"All right Kouyou!" Judai said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Here I go; I activate Heaven and Earth's effect, discarding Elemental Hero Voltic to destroy Hell Sniper and deal two thousand points of damage to you!" A flap of his mighty wings, and Heaven and Earth had wiped out Hell Sniper, reducing Kouyou to 100 life points. "Now I set two cards, and end my turn."

"And now, Hell Gainer's second effect activates; on my second standby phase after removing it from play by its own effect, I can special summon it back to the field. I wish I could keep this duel going, but there's only so much time left, and so much left to do, so I'll finish it now."

"Heh, we'll see Kouyou." Judai looked at his face-down cards; Responsibility, which could destroy an attacking monster so long as he had a level five or higher Elemental Hero in his grave, and Shield of the Earth, which could negate the attack of any spell or trap card while under the same conditions as Responsibility. Between these two cards, he was ready for anything.

"All right Judai, here goes; I discard a card from my hand, to activate Super Fusion, which allows me to fuse monsters on either side of the field!" A storm beyond any other, a primal storm from the very beginnings of the Earth, flashed into being. It threatened to tear both monsters on the field apart…

"I activate Shield of the Earth to negate your spell card…huh?" Try as he might, Judai couldn't get to activate.

"Sorry Judai, but no effects can be activated in response to Super Fusion; thus, nothing can interrupt the summon of Evil Hero Heaven and Hell." Judai's eyes grew wide with shock as he saw the monster descend down onto the field; he'd seen it before, in his dream last year, after his duel with Mizuchi. He'd thought that it was just a dream, but seeing that figure take form, like Elemental Hero The Earth but formed of black ashen stone, he knew that it was really real.

And then Judai remembered; when he and Asuka were dueling Takuma Saiou, he'd said something about a great power protecting him and Asuka for its own purposes. "Kouyou…you mean…"

"Ah, you caught on. Yes Judai, I was there for you last year, though I am always there for you; like you said, the deck you use is my heart, and so long as that is with you, I can keep you safe, no matter what. That's why I can do this, and know that you'll be okay; I now activate Heaven and Hell's effect, destroying all other cards on the field and forcing my opponent to discard their entire hand!" Black flames swept all, leaving no defense or even potential for defense for Judai. A great fist hammered down upon him, bringing his life points to zero, ending the duel decisively.

Judai watched as Kouyou walked past him, back to the elevator. "Wait, what about Midori?"

Kouyou paused, unable to look at Judai. "Until you defeat me Judai, our sister can't awaken, and while you're very close to that goal, you've got a little further to go." He stepped into the elevator and closed the door behind him.

Judai stared, silent, unable to speak or act, fearing that the slightest move on his part, would be the straw that would break his heart irreparably. More than once in his life he'd felt something like this, this choking sensation that crawled all over his skin, this overwhelming emptiness that blotted out everything else inside him. Yet somehow, this struck far more deeply, more intensely, more viscerally, more…more than anything else he had ever felt in his life. And worst of all, he had no idea what to do, no idea what he wanted or needed to hear.

No, he knew what he needed.

He needed Midori back.

He forced himself to move, intent on being at her side, even if she wouldn't know that he was there at all.


	11. Chapter 11

Proud, Beloved Echo

"Hmm, what an interesting monster." Amon Garam said with a chuckle as he watched Evil Hero Heaven and Hell vanish. "Still, even Super Fusion falls within the limits of your strength, Echo." She looked at him askance, as though she could not believe what he'd just said. "Echo, when have I ever been wrong? When have I ever asked more of than you could handle?" He looked into her eyes with a firm smile, and while she met his gaze for a moment, she quickly looked away as something new entered her vision.

"There you are!" Asuka Tenjouin said as stormed towards Amon and Echo, a stern, foul expression on her face. "Whatever you're scheming Amon, it's coming to an end right here!" She was now mere inches away from him and was moving in to grab him by the collar.

"Don't." Asuka was confused; Amon Garam was looking at her with a confident smile, yet he hadn't moved or said anything, so how had he stopped her hand? It was only then that she noticed her, the woman who was always at Amon's side whenever he deigned to move about the campus. Her grip was as steel, her voice was like a knife, and in that woman's eyes, Asuka could only see contempt. "You are too far beneath Amon Garam, Asuka Tenjouin."

"Ah, thank you Echo; I am as always right to depend on you." Asuka saw her smile at the compliment, but Echo's grip on her arm did not waver at all, and no matter how she struggled, pushed pulled and tugged, her arm did not budge an inch. "But I would advise that you release her; I believe the rest of her friends are about to arrive." Echo released Asuka with a dismissive swing of her arm, and Asuka instinctively tended to her arm, confirming that no bones had been broken.

And just like Amon Garam had said, Shou, Manjoume, Misawa, Momoe, Junko, Momiji, Edo, and Rei, they'd all hurried to Asuka's side. "Asuka," Shou said, nervously looking at her arm for a moment, "Judai…he's gone with Head Nurse Ayukawa and Professor Hibiki." Asuka sighed as she steadied herself, took this information in.

"As I would expect of my little brother." Everyone, save Amon and Echo, turned towards Kouyou Hibiki, standing there as though he'd been there the whole time.

"You, when did you get down here?" Manjoume said in a guttural bark, channeling his anger on Judai's behalf. "Who are you, really?"

"Ah, you did not hear the details, so you can't help but have the same skepticism that Judai had." Kouyou took off his glasses and wiped them off. "Unfortunately, I can't take the time to prove to your satisfaction that I am Kouyou Hibiki; you will simply have to take Judai's word for it. For now, there is something I have confirm with Amon Garam here." Kouyou began to walk past the group, and paused when he reached Asuka. "You're the one who gave Judai Kuriboh, right? That was very generous of you; I trust your deck is still strong without it?"

Asuka glared at him, somewhat disarmed by his manner; despite her earlier suspicions, she was now certain that this man had no connection to Daitokuji. Even so, he was still highly suspicious, especially considering his apparent connection to Amon Garam.

"You see, Kouyou Hibiki?" Amon Garam said to Kouyou, a faux-benign grin on his face. "The people of Duel Academia are so suspicious; I myself have hardly had time to go about the campus, after all the expense I've to not only support this institution, but to bring in new students to help fulfill that function."

"Well, it is to be expected, after everything that has transpired here over the last two years. Now, those students you just mentioned; I'd like to meet them, see the sorts of duelists that you've brought here."

"Of course, Kouyou Hibiki." Amon pressed a small button on a remote that he kept in an inside pocket, and it seemed to send out an invisible, unheard signal to his students; sure enough, the eight duelists emerged from the respective groups where the other Duel Academia students had been gathered to assess the situation, and gathered around Kouyou Hibiki.

"Hmm," He hummed as he passed from one duelist to the next, giving each one no more than a glance. "Yes, I think that their dueling shall reflect their dreams very well indeed. You have to tell me, Amon Garam, how on earth did you find duelists like these?"

"Just as you ought to tell me how you were able to recover from you condition, no doubt?" Amon took a moment to adjust his glasses. "No, I feel like keeping that information close to my chest. Was that what you wanted to confirm?"

"Indeed it was." Kouyou then turned around to address the gathered duelists. "I'll be taking off for a while now, taking care of some loose ends, but I'll will return in due course; while I am gone, you will all need to do your utmost to obey the demands of your heart to fulfill your dreams in the time to come." He then turned his focus back to Asuka. "Obelisk Blue…Judai is lucky, to have the love of such a pillar of strength like you." Kouyou then turned around, his coat sweeping out behind him as he walked away.

"Wait!" Asuka shouted. "What are you and Amon plotting? Tell me!" She tried to move towards him, but Echo grabbed her shoulder, holding her in place.

"I will not allow any interference; you will not prevent Amon's ascension." Asuka glared into Echo's eyes, her gaze boring deep in an effort to see into her soul.

"And I will not allow you to block my way." The two women glared at each other, and simultaneously armed their duel discs. "So you are a duelist after all; I assume Amon Garam hired you for that reason then?"

"Cogito Ergo Sum." Amon Garam said, the smile gone from his face. "Your ignorance speaks for itself, Asuka Tenjouin. Echo, crush her spirit, and remove her from my sight."

Echo nodded to Amon as he stood aside. Then she turned back to Asuka, her eyes almost shining with anger. "You may take the first turn Asuka, and experience firsthand how truly weak you are."

"Sorry, but after all the opponents I've dueled over the past two years, there's no way that someone like you can intimidate me! I start by summoning Cyber Petit Angel and activating its effect to add Machine Angel Ritual to my hand." Cyber Petit Angel began to glow as it activated its effect, but that glow was soon overwhelmed by an orange light that swept across the field, and when it passed, Cyber Petit Angel was gone. "What the…"

"Herald of Orange Light's effect." Echo said, her smirk showing her pride. "When you attempted to activate your monster's effect, I send Herald of Orange Light, along with another Angel card in my hand to the grave, to negate your monster's effect and destroy it."

"A card that can be activated from the hand, during your opponent's turn…" Asuka muttered to herself; there were only a handful of cards like that in existence, and most of them didn't have such encompassing effects. Still, with the great cost involved, Echo couldn't have too many cards like that in her deck. And besides, Asuka still had a back up plan. "Very well, now I activate Icicle Sacrifice, giving up a monster zone to special summon an Icicle Token, to sacrifice for the special summon of Ice Master!" But as the Icicle Token coalesced into being, a green light washed over the field, dissolving it into nothing.

"By sending the Herald of Green Light, along with one other Angel card to the grave, I can negate and destroy your spell card." A self-assured smile marked Echo's face. "What will you do now, now that your weakness has been plainly exposed for all to see?"

"Hmph, you might have gotten a lucky draw to start with, but you've hardly proven anything; you're down to one card now, while I still have four, so by the time you've renewed your hand, it'll be too late for you! I set one card and end my turn, Echo."

"Luck; that word means nothing to me, nor to Amon." Echo drew her next card as though she were drawing a sword. "For the heart that is pure and focused, there is only one path to follow. I now summon Grace of Power to the field." A knight with white wings appeared on the field, clad in black armor and wielding a pair of great swords. "When summoned, Grace of Power allows me to remove from play all monsters with the name 'Grace' in my grave from play, and draw an equal number of cards from my deck; since I had sent Grace of Control and Grace of Wisdom to my grave, I can remove them to draw two cards. Now, Grace of Power, attack Asuka directly." Grace of Power crossed its swords together and swung them out to create a precise shockwave in the air.

"Wrong! I activate my trap card Freezing Boundary, reducing your monster's attack power to zero and preventing you from changing it to defense position!" But as the ice began to gather around Grace of Power, a pillar of purple light crashed down, cleansing the field of ice. "No way…"

"By sending Herald of Purple Light and one other angel card from my hand to the grave, I negate your trap card and destroy it. Thus, my attack continues uninterrupted." Asuka was struck across the chest for 1200 points of damage. "I am both guardian and herald to Amon Garam; against me, no opposition can endure, least of all the opposition provided by a weak hearted youth like you."

"Weak hearted?" Asuka said, her tension mounting and rising upon itself with every passing moment; the mere thought of letting Judai down, in his time of need… "You have no conception of the trials I've been through, and you have no right to say those things about me, you lapdog!" Asuka saw it out of the corner of her eye, of Amon barely restraining himself from interfering in the duel, but she paid it no mind.

"Hmph. I might well say the same to you; the difference is plain to see, if you even care to look. I set one card, and end my turn."

Asuka looked at Echo intently, but whatever she was babbling about, she had no idea. Still, that nonsense would have to wait. "Now I play Cyber Angel Calling, and since I have the Level Eight Ice Master in my hand, I add the Level Eight Cyber Angel Dakini to my hand, and now I activate Machine Angel Ritual, sacrificing Ice Master to Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Dakini!" As Dakini manifested on the field amidst a burst of ice, she struck down Grace of Power in an instant with her staff. "And now with my normal summon I bring out Illusion Ice Sculpture, whose attack power becomes equal to Cyber Angel Dakini!" A crude ice sculpture quickly reshaped itself into a perfect reflection of Cyber Angel Dakini.

"Whatever face-down card you have, I do not fear it; I've wasted enough time on this duel already." The Cyber Angels, the synthetic goddesses, attacked together as one, but a pure wall of white light deflected their attacks.

"You should have; in attacking, you activated my trap card, Return of Blessing; I remove a number of Angel cards in my grave equal to the number of monsters on my opponent's field to negate your attacks and end the battle phase. Then, I can return all monsters with 'Herald' in their name from my grave back to my hand. Thus, I recover Herald of Orange, Green, and Purple Light. Perhaps if you had someone like Amon with you, you could have drawn the card that would have defeated me."

"Oh yes, a smug snake of a man constantly plotting and taking advantage of our situation to serve his own ends, without any regard for others; you're right, he's clearly far better than Judai."

"You can throw whatever insults you like at me; with Amon's undivided love filling my heart, with our dreams united as one, your words are meaningless to me." Echo drew her next card. "Now I activate the effect of Herald of Blue Light; when I have monsters in my hand or on my field whose combined levels equal that of a Ritual Monster in my deck, I can discard Herald of Blue Light to add that Ritual Monster and the accompanying Ritual Spell Card from my deck to my hand. Thus, I activate Dawn of the Herald, Sacrificing the three heralds in my hand to Ritual Summon Herald of Perfection."

Cascading waves of light crashed onto the field, becoming a pure sphere that spread out and grew until it encompassed both duelists. Then it drew in on itself, shrinking down to the size of a human. More and more detail was added, until it became a synthetic angel that shined with an inner light of every color. "Furthermore, when Herald of Perfection is Ritual Summoned by Dawn of the Herald, I can remove Dawn of the Herald from play to return one of the sacrificed monsters in my grave back to my hand." As one of the three Heralds returned to Echo's hand, Asuka saw that Herald of Perfection was a defense focused monster, possessing 2800 defense points, far exceeding its 1800 attack points. Still, it was a wall that Asuka could not afford to let stand.

"That's an interesting monster you have their, but not only am I going to destroy it, I'm going to seal off the rest of your deck! I sacrifice Cyber Angel Dakini and Illusion Ice Sculpture to summon Fog King to the field." A thick white wall of mist interposed itself between Asuka and Echo, and from out of it emerged its armored king. "Now, Fog King will gain attack points equal to the combined attack power of the monsters sacrificed to summon it, fifty-four hundred points! And so long as Fog King is on the field, you can't sacrifice any monsters! " But as the Fog King formed its mighty sword, the Herald of Perfection cast down a baleful light, dissolving its very being into the fog from whence it came.

"The Herald of Perfection, is an absolute and perfect monster; whether it be spell, trap, or monster effect, with this monster on the field I can negate and destroy them all, all at the cost of a single Angel monster from my hand. Now it is my turn again, and I equip Ritual Weapon to Herald of Perfection, raising its attack and defense power by fifteen hundred points." The duel was finished; The Herald of Perfection attacked with an absolute strength that brought Asuka down to her knees. It was only in the immediate aftermath of that final turn, that Asuka realized something.

"Wait…you called out your card before you even drew it!" Echo turned away from Asuka, walking back towards Amon Garam. She put her hand on his shoulder, as though about to whisper something to him, but her mouth never moved.

"You should not feel bad about this Asuka; after all, Echo is invincible in a duel. True, she has only been dueling for about a few months, but her synchronization rating has been perfect from the very beginning."

"Synchronization?" Asuka had a vague notion of what Amon was getting at…

"Oh, that's right; despite this institutions purpose, none of you have taken the time to directly measure the bond between the soul of a duelist and their deck, preferring instead to rely on vague connections and ambiguous results. I, on the other hand, have taken the measures necessary to discern this bond in all of my duelists; the eight I sponsored for Duel Academia range from eighty to ninety percent, but Echo…" He chuckled a laughter of pride. "Using her chosen deck, a powerful deck already, she has a synchronization rating of one-hundred percent; no matter what, she always and in every circumstance draws exactly the right card she needs, summons the portion and power of her soul that is required of her."

The weight of these words descended on Asuka as their implications unfolded before her. "And it is no mystery to me why that would be the case. Now, unless the rest of your friends would like to waste their time confirming what you already know, I'd suggest you take a rest period, determine exactly how you intend to fulfill your dreams. I know that my students are already hard at work figuring that out." He looked to them, able to get them all to nod in unison despite the stark differences between them all. "Now Echo, I believe it is time for us to retire to our quarters, and contemplate our new tomorrow." They left, and then the sponsored duelists each split up on their own, each clearly pursuing their own agendas, their own paths.

"Asuka." She looked up, and saw that it was Misawa, trying to comfort her while Judai wasn't here. Judai…

"You heard him everyone; whatever he and Kouyou have worked out between them, we won't be able to stop them by acting rashly, so just get back to your rooms, and contemplate just what it is you're all going to be dueling for." She then split off from them, not bothering to confirm whether they'd done as she'd said. There was something else, far more important, that she had to see for herself.

* * *

"I'm sorry Asuka, but while they seem to be stable, it doesn't look like either of their conditions will improve any time soon." Emi Ayukawa said to Asuka as she looked upon Professor Hibiki and Judai; the former looked disturbingly serene, the medical equipment hooked up to her the only sign that she was still alive, and the latter…Asuka felt her jaw line tensing up as she looked at Judai sitting there, unmoving as he gazed at Midori's face with the whole of his being, as though he could wish her back just by wanting it badly enough. She had seen him depressed before, despondent even; the time when she had joined the Association of Light, he ended up in hopeless duel against Manjoume…just like now. But back then, he had the memories of Kouyou, and the living presence of Midori, to help him keep strong. Could she…?

"Judai." She carefully put her hand on his shoulder, and while he looked up at her, there was a sunken-in quality to his eyes.

"Oh, Asuka." He moved his lips silently for a bit, as though searching for the right words to say. "Midori, Kouyou says that if I can defeat him, Midori will be back to normal. I always…I always hoped that I would be able to defeat him one day, but…" Judai's voice became stifled as he began to choke up.

"It's okay, I'm still here Judai." she put her other hand on Judai's other shoulder, facing him directly. "We're all still here Judai, and we'll all be here for you, for as long as you need us to be. Remember, there's no such thing as invincible; you've proven that more than once, remember?" Judai nodded, but it was a hollow, lifeless gesture, and Asuka could see that his eyes weren't on her, not entirely.

"Thank you Asuka." He returned to his vigil, his senses attuned to even the slightest change in Midori's condition. Asuka decided that she couldn't afford to put off telling Judai what had happened in her duel with Echo.

"I tried to stop Amon and Kouyou, force them to tell me what they were planning…but that woman at Amon's side, Echo, she defeated me, effortlessly. I'm sorry Judai, I let you down."

Judai was silent as he went over what Asuka just said. "…I guess, I guess this wasn't a very good day for either of us, was it?" He tried to chuckle, as though he'd just told a joke, but the sound died in his throat. Suddenly, he darted his face towards Midori, but the merest beginnings of a smile were already gone.

"No, it hasn't. But tomorrow…" Asuka found it impossible to finish that sentence. She let go off Judai and walked away. She looked back, confirming that hadn't noticed her departure; would he even remember that she was there? And why had it come to this, this…

Upon exiting into the hallway, Asuka leaned against the wall, and made herself think about what Echo had said to her, the difference between them. Amon Garam, he seemed entirely focused and dedicated to Echo, his demeanor towards the duelists he sponsored akin to the demeanor one has towards their tools. Judai, his heart had always been so big, ever since Asuka had gotten to know him after that chance encounter over two years ago. But now Midori Hibiki, the woman he regarded as his beloved older sister, she was gone and yet still there, tearing away a part of his heart with her.

"A divided heart…" Asuka had her answer, yet it brought her no solace; was she to try to tear Midori's place out of Judai's heart, make him hers and hers alone, just to achieve that kind of power that Echo enjoyed? Of course not, that false and twisted, myopic conception of love, she would have no part of it. But Asuka knew; so long as she could not conceive of a way to defeat Echo, that horrible notion would haunt the recesses of her mind, trying to worm their way into her own heart. And Judai…Asuka needed that answer, as soon as possible.

* * *

"I must apologize, Principal Samejima." One of the security guards, a woman named Veronica Hideki, was down on one knee before her. "We saw Kouyou Hibiki as he returned for his boat, and we attempted to apprehend him, to keep him from escaping. But somehow, he was able maneuver around us and reach his boat…it made no physical sense, he couldn't have reached the boat that quickly without us noticing."

"Hmm, that is indeed curious…" The ringing of the phone interrupted Samejima's thoughts as she picked up the receiver. "Yes, who is this? Ah, I was going to call you shortly…"

Veronica could not hear what was being said on the phone, but judging from the mounting incredulity on Principal Samejima's face, it was nothing good. "I see…thank you for telling me this." She put the phone back down, and held her face in the palm of her hands.

"Principal Samejima?"

"Contact Chronos, Mizuchi, and Takuma; tell them to come to my office immediately." Principal Samejima watched the security officer depart, and she went over the impossible nature of what she'd just been told, yet had to trust to be truth. What on earth was going on?


	12. Chapter 12

Balanced, Jun Manjoume's Strength

"That…that concludes class for today, everyone." The words were hollow as they came out of Professor Chronos's mouth, as had all else he'd said throughout the day. With the weight of all that had happened yesterday dragging his heart down into his stomach, Chronos found himself unable to express even the least bit of passion that he normally summoned for his work. And judging from the way his students were going through the motions, sluggishly following the dictates of the schedule, they must have felt the same way. And they didn't even know the worst of it, the sheer, nightmarish impossibility of the enemy they were facing…

"Bro, I just found this great remix of Mass Destruction; would, would you like to listen to it?" Professor Chronos watched as Shou tried to cheer Judai up, try to take his mind off of the troubles that assailed him, but Chronos knew it was already doomed.

"That's okay Shou. I think I'll just go straight to Ayukawa's office. Do you think you could do me a favor Shou, and bring dinner to me when you get the chance?" Professor Chronos could see the devastating effect that Judai's forced smile had on Shou, the way it never met his eyes or indeed effected any other part of his aside from his mouth, and there was nothing he could say to help.

"Oh…okay bro." Shou shuffled away, and shortly thereafter Professor Chronos was the only one left in the room. He slumped back down into his desk, unable to sustain the miracle that had allowed him to do his job.

"How…how is it possible?" Professor Chronos looked at a picture he kept in a drawer in his desk, a picture that was taken just at the end of the last year; a picture of the faculty of Duel Academia, to commemorate the formal addition of Mizuchi and Takuma Saiou to the group. And appropriately enough, Midori Hibiki, head of the Ra Yellow dorm, stood in the middle, drawing them all together as though she really were the sun. "That woman…she was always so insufferably superior, always so naturally and effortlessly graceful…" He put the picture back, unable to bear looking at it any longer. "How…how could Kouyou do that to her? How…was he even able to do that?" He summoned them up, the memories of yesterday's meeting, after Kouyou Hibiki's impossible escape from the island.

* * *

"What?" Professor Chronos yelled out, his anger yet to ebb from his being as he slammed his fist down on Principal Samejima's desk. "You can't be serious! Medical science has advanced greatly over the years, but this…" He waved his hand in the air in a knowingly futile gesture, and then turned to the Takumas, who'd also been summoned. "You! One of you must be able to prove that this entire story concocted by Head Nurse Ayukawa is nothing more than a fable, a tale meant for the ears of dullards! Surely you must remember something from your time in the Light and the Dark, surely you must!"

"While I do remember the time I spent in the Darkness, unable to believe in my own heart…" Mizuchi said, drawing herself up before Professor Chronos, reminding him of where he should have been directing his anger, "the fact of the matter is that what I felt coming from that man, the power that Kouyou Hibiki was using, it was absolutely unlike anything I've ever encountered." Then she looked to her brother, and saw that Takuma was deep in contemplation. She waited for him to speak, not wanting to risk derailing his thoughts at a time like this.

"…No." Takuma pronounced solemnly. "I could have sworn that I remembered feeling that same sense of power as I got from Kouyou, but I might have been desperate to see anything that might help us against the power that I foresaw…" He clenched his fist, striving to keep the tears at bay. "I'd believed that Amon Garam was the power that I foresaw in my duel against Judai and Asuka, and because of that, Kouyou was able to strike at the heart of Duel Academia in only a single day."

"But that's impossible!" Professor Chronos yelled out, feeling as though the ground might fly away from him if he dared to concede the possibility of what they'd all been told. "We all saw it, the way he and Amon Garam had interacted, they'd met before, they'd planned this out together! And that doesn't even begin to deal with the basic, physical fact that it still takes time and physical therapy after recovering from a coma to be able to move around again, so how could he have possibly recovered only yesterday!"

"Unfortunately, Professor Chronos, the medical files that Emi Ayukuwa obtained from the hospital that Kouyou was staying at were incontrovertible; yesterday afternoon, the vitals being tracked by the life-support system that sustained Kouyou Hibiki's survival, flatlined. And yet, neither the doctors or nurses assigned to his case, nor any other member of the staff or even the patients, became aware of Kouyou's absence until after Emi Ayukawa contacted them for information on Kouyou Hibiki's recovery."

"But…" Professor Chronos collapsed in submission, the evidence impossible to deny. "But…that would mean that this Kouyou Hibiki, he can…" Professor Chronos waved his arms around impotently, "he can create perfect illusions! And if that's the case, then how do we know that he's really left? How do we know that he was ever really here? How do we even know that we're really here, talking to each other like this? How can we even know anything at all anymore with a power like that around, toying with us like we were mere playthings?"

"Professor Chronos, please calm yourself!" Mizuchi said in a tone that suggested she was not all together calm herself. "I do not believe that we are in any immediate danger; thus far, all those who seemed to have fallen victim to this power, they have all been non-duelists. It is entirely possible that I'm being optimistic, but I believe that being duelists gives us a resistance to his power, one that has to be worn down in a duel itself." The memory of Midori and Judai's duels against Kouyou replayed in their minds. "I was reluctant to do this earlier, but I don't want to take any more chances; I must contact my former disciples, and ask for their help once more." Mizuchi turned to leave Principal Samejima's office, but Takuma put his hand on her shoulder. She paused, acquiescing to his request for the moment.

"Sister…you're doing it again." She was jolted by the sudden realization. "Don't try to take it all on your own; Edo…the last thing he needs from us is us falling to our old habits." The pleading tone of his voice spoke more than his words. "I…"

"It's okay brother. I know."

Principal Samejima cleared her throat and looked silently upon her faculty; between all of them were enough issues, difficulties, and flaws for any enemy to exploit without even thinking about it. Even so, they had to remain strong, even in the absence of their most dearly missed member. "We must remain focused on why we are here; we must show our students, ALL of our students, that we are here to help guide them to become the sort of duelists who can fulfill their dreams. As such, Mizuchi, I am temporarily placing you in charge of the Ra Yellow Dorm, until Midori Hibiki recovers. Furthermore, two years prior, the former head of the Osiris Red dorm had advised us to be silent on the truth; we discovered too late his true motives for that course of action. Therefore, we will be open and honest with the information we gather, the suspicions we feel. To do otherwise, is to create an atmosphere of paranoia that can only poison the hearts of all."

"This meeting is adjourned, and I wish you all the best of luck."

* * *

"Damn it, respond already you shits!" Jun Manjoume was in no mood to be deterred, delayed, or deferred; he was in no mood to tolerate or put up with either of his brothers and their petty, juvenile antics that helped to enable the crisis afflicting Duel Academia; Judai was a wreck, Asuka wasn't talking to anyone, and Amon Garam walked around like he owned the damn place, Echo always there to keep him safe from the reprisal he knew he deserved! And of course, those students he'd brought in, they still had a role to play, they were going to take actions of their own; if his brothers had a hand in providing Amon Garam with them…

"All right, who is it…oh, it's you, Jun." It was Chousaku who was looking at him from the other side of his monitor. "So, what's the matter? Have you been shown up for the umpteenth time by Amon Garam's duelists? Have you come to realize how much time and money you're wasting there, time and money that could be better utilized back here, as part of the Manjoume Group?"

"Hmph, I thought I was unwanted; didn't you say something about the Board of Directors not wanting a former cult member in the company?" Chousaku shrugged his shoulders.

"Truth be told, those old men are on their way out, to be replaced with more…compliant figures by the Garam group; seems they've really worked out how to train their employees to be loyal, but then again, you should already know that if you've had the chance to see that Echo woman in action. Heh, gave me the chills, the way she'd just stand there, not say a word, just a look in her eyes that said she'd kill us where we stood if we tried anything against her precious Amon Garam." Then he started snickering. "Please! We're not duelists, we don't inflate the meaning of some ridiculous and inexplicably popular children's card to some sort of meaningful significance. But so long as there are wealthy idiots out there who do act like the outcome of a card game means anything, we'll take advantage of it."

"Idiot!" Manjoume barked out, the feelings within him boiling over. "After everything that's happened, between Daitokuji's experiments with the Darkness, and Takuma Saiou's efforts to use the Light within us all, are you telling me that you and Shouji, that you two are still so narcissistic that you can't see anything beyond the expansion of your Corporate empire, beyond the swelling of the black bar of profit? You two have supported Amon Garam in his schemes, and because of that, Professor Midori Hibiki is now in a coma! Your role in this may be minor compared to those who were more directly involved, but you're still going to redeem yourselves, and the first step will be to give us all the information you can about where Amon Garam found those duelists of his!"

"…You know something Jun?" All emotion left Chousaku's face. "I've always been defending you to our brother, to Shouji, trying to convince him that despite your eccentricities that you are still a member of this family and that you still belong here."

"Bullshit!"

"I don't care what you think Jun; I've had enough of trying to get your head back into the real world, where real work needs to be done to achieve real power and real value. As far as I'm concerned, there was never a third Manjoume brother, and I know it won't take any effort to get Shouji to agree."

"Hmph, an empty threat; I'm already exiled from the family, remember?"

"You don't get it, do you Jun? Even a bastard child stands a chance to inherit, provided that they are sufficiently clever and manipulative, but you will descend to an even lower level; by the end of this week, you will be an un-person! All legal records of any connection between you and the Manjoume group will be obliterated!"

"What!" Jun slammed his fists against his desk. "You can't be serious, the Manjoume group doesn't have that kind of power!"

"You'd be surprised at the gains that Shouji and I've made while you've wasted your life in that little pet project of Seto Kaiba's." Then Chousaku turned around, only the back of his head visible to Jun. "Well, I don't see any reason to waste any more of my valuable time talking to some stranger. And remember, whoever you are, that if you try to harass the Manjoume again, legal action will be taken." With that the connection was severed, and Manjoume was left looking into a blank monitor that reflected his beleaguered countenance.

"I see…the one weapon I can call upon that no one else can is to be denied to me…" Manjoume then took out his deck, and drew out Light and Darkness Dragon from it. "Don't worry, I know the truth of my soul. I won't allow a trivial annoyance like this to get to me."

"Jun Manjoume!" A voice called out from behind the door to his room. "Come out, you have something that I want!"

"Is that…?" Manjoume confirmed his suspicions when he opened the door. "Emi Tanaka. What the hell do you want?"

The orange-haired girl looked upon Jun Manjoume with absolute scorn on her face. "It's clear from the way that its top members are acting, from Professor Chronos to Asuka Tenjouin to Edo Phoenix, that the Obelisk Blue dorm is going to lose all of its dignity and rob all meaning from those like me, who've aspired for the elite. In order to restore Obelisk Blue back to its glory I need power, and to obtain power I need knowledge, and you have the knowledge that I seek, Jun Manjoume."

"I'm sorry, but you've come barking a little late for any table scraps from the Manjoume Group…!" Manjoume looked down at Tanaka's arm as it shot and grabbed his own with unbelievable force.

"Don't think that you can mock me, Jun Manjoume; your descent from the illustrious heights of the Manjoume Group are well known to me, and if your brothers had any sense they'd take that noble name away from you as well, so you couldn't keep tainting it!"

Jun Manjoume paused, and then chuckled darkly. "Indeed, they've probably been waiting for just the right moment to do just that. So, what is it that you do want from me?"

"What else? You know how to contact the Underground League. All I have to do is to take the power of my Lightsworn monsters and crush them, and the prestige that comes from that will be enough for me to reforge Obelisk Blue into the citadel of strength and glory that it is meant to be."

"I see…and I suppose that if I don't tell you, you'll force it out of me with a duel? Very well, if we're supposed to follow the dreams in our hearts, then I can start mine off by defeating you!"

"I figured it would come to this; let's head outside, away from unworthy prying eyes." Manjoume shrugged as he followed behind her; then something occurred to him.

"I notice that you didn't mention anything about Momoe Hamaguchi; was she not sufficiently skilled to meet your standard of 'Top Obelisk Blue Duelist'?"

"Not at all; the fact that she defeated Hachirou Sasaki and has managed to keep herself together shows that she's worthy of remaining in Obelisk Blue. Unlike you, you disgraceful clown."

"Hmph, you defeat Professor Chronos, and now you think you're unstoppable? You're like Judai, sans all the whimsy and charm."

Emi Tanaka stopped, outside and behind the Obelisk Blue dorm. "How dare you compare me to him? That lucky twit was handed everything he had by coincidence and happenstance; I EARNED my power, and I will show you that there is no weakness to me deck!" She armed her duel disc in a fury-filled motion. "I set one monster and one card, then I end my turn. Come, Manjoume, submit to my strength, now!"

"Sorry, but if its any consolation, losing to me won't prove any weakness on your part; I summon Masked Dragon to attack your face-down monster!" Masked Dragon rushed forward, grabbed hold of the card, and breathed its fire upon it, forcing it to reveal its true form, a white in grey and gold armor.

"Whatever bullshit you were spewing doesn't matter; when Ryko the Lightsworn Hunter is flipped face-up, I can destroy any one card on the field." Ryko, its body covered in deadly burns, lashed out at Masked Dragon and tore its throat open, destroying it. Emi Tanaka followed the motions of her monster most exactly. "Upon the resolution of the destruction, I then send three cards from my deck to the grave, and in anticipation of that, I activate my permanent trap card, Light Spiral!"

Twisting twin columns of light crashed down behind Emi Tanaka as she slammed her fists into the ground, almost as though the light was about to drill into the ground itself. The roar of a dragon echoed across the field, and Manjoume found himself panicking as he recognized it. "Light and Darkness Dragon!" He looked down at his deck, and saw the card fading away.

"From now on, every time my Lightsworn monsters send cards from my deck to my grave, the top card of your deck is removed from play. Judging from your pitiful whining just now, you must have lost your…spirit monster, was it?"

"…Light and Darkness Dragon is more than just a 'spirit monster', as you so ignorantly put it. Before the end of this duel, you will come to understand that, Emi Tanaka." Jun Manjoume spoke with controlled calmness; he knew that he was in no danger against this opponent, no matter how loud her howls became. "I set one card and end my turn."

"Please, power is power, strength is strength; if you focus it all into one card, one dream, one hope, then the pillar of your strength shall be an unwieldy structure that can't stand. I will demonstrate this by summoning Lumina, the Lightsworn Summoner!" A woman with tan skin and blonde hair appeared to the sound of a celestial chorus. "Now, so long as I have a level four or lower lightsworn monster in my grave, once per turn I can discard a card from my hand to special summon a level four or lower lightsworn monster from my grave to the field. Therefore, I discard a card to special summon Garoth, the Lightsworn Warrior!" Lumina waved her hands about, tracing an arcane pattern, and Emi Tanaka followed that motion as closely as she could manage. An eruption of light, and Garoth emerged, swinging his battleaxe over his head.

"Impressively well done, Emi Tanaka. But I don't think anyone's mentioned to you yet…" Manjoume paused, letting his words hang in the air.

"Mentioned what?" She said with a sneer that was smeared across her face.

"How silly you look as you pantomime your monsters actions." The intensity of her reaction was as Manjoume had expected, but the direction of it…

"…What the hell are you talking about?" Her brow was furrowed for confrontation. "Professor Chronos said something like that but I ignored that stupid clown…did he put you up to this? Did he tell you to try and throw me off my game so that you could earn an undeserved victory? Well it won't work you stupid prick! I'll now attack directly with both of my monsters!" She jabbed her hand out as Lumina attacked, and swung her fist out in arc for Garoth's, and after it was said and done, Manjoume had 1150 life points left.

"Trap card activate, Damage Condenser! I discard a card from my hand and special summon the eighteen-hundred attack power Lance Lindwurm from my deck! Furthermore, the card I discarded was Dynamic Dragon, and when that monster is sent from my hand to the grave, I can draw one card from my deck." During all that, Manjoume kept his true thoughts hidden; was Emi Tanaka really unaware of the mannerisms that she engaged in while dueling? Or was this some sort of act meant to throw him off? What the point of that would be, he couldn't say.

"Whatever, that weakling will be nothing but trash before my monsters. Now, during my end phase, Lumina's effect activates, sending the top three cards of my deck to the grave, and with Light Spiral, that means another card in your deck is removed from play." Manjoume watched closely as his next card vanished, noting with distaste that it was Dark-End Dragon that he'd just lost. "And now Garoth's effect activates; whenever a Lightsworn monster sends cards from my deck to the grave, Garoth gets to send two, and for every Lightsworn monster sent in this fashion, I can draw a card. And of course, this triggers Light Spiral as well." As Emi Tanaka drew a card, Manjoume lost Light-End Dragon to the ether. "Your three most infamous and powerful monsters have been lost to you. Face it Manjoume, without them, you've no chance to win against me, and that's what makes you so weak."

"Do you really think so?" Manjoume said with a small, precisely measured smile.

"Do I think so…you stupid twit! You've lost them, so what the hell do you even think you're pretending to be playing at?"

"No, that's where you're wrong. Twice, actually; first of all, you seem to think that strength and glory exist for their own sake. And second…" He could feel it, that familiar presence that dwelled within him, in what he imagined to be the room of his soul. "There is no power in this world that can separate Light and Darkness Dragon from me. Now, I sacrifice Lance Lindwurm and summon Genesis Dragon to the field!"

Genesis Dragon had a long red-scaled body with no arms, its breath alone the vector for its 2200 attack power. "Now, attack Lumina!" Genesis Dragon swung out its spiked tail at her, using the whipping motion to increase of its attack. "Now you won't be retrieving any more monsters from your grave. I set one card, and I end my turn."

"Tch, two cards on the field? This'll be trivial." Emi Tanaka assumed a wide-set stance. "Now I sacrifice Garoth in order to summon Celestia the Lightsworn Angel!" Sheets of light swept over the field as the angelic woman held her spear out with pride, floating down from the heavens all the while. "And when she's summoned by the sacrifice of a Lightsworn monster, I can activate her effect, sending the top four cards of my deck to the grave to destroy two of your cards!" Celestia gathered twin spheres of light around the point of her spear…

"Useless! You tried the same thing against Professor Chronos, and it won't work any better! I activate my trap card Twilight Power, discarding a Light attribute and Dark attribute monster each to negate your card's effect, and destroy it!" Waves of light and darkness washed over Celestia, sweeping her away before she could even attack. "Well, go ahead, set your traps and end your turn."

"…You won't win." She didn't move, not even a little.

"…Do you seriously have nothing to set? You have four cards left in your hand, and none of them can help you now?"

"They wouldn't have to, if you'd let your monster be destroyed like you were supposed to! Not that it matters, I still have enough life points to survive another turn. Go ahead, try and defeat me, you'll only fail and prove that you deserve to be abandoned by your brothers."

Manjoume subconsciously clenched his fist, almost drawing blood in the process. "Ah, but you forget, I do have one monster that has exactly the right attack power to defeat you. First, I need to retrieve it, so I play Returning Light; when I control a Light-attribute monster on the field, I can take a card that's in my grave or has been removed from play, and add it back to my hand, so that takes care of getting back Light and Darkness Dragon. Next, I activate Genesis Dragon's effect, sending Golem Dragon from my hand to the grave to retrieve Dynamic Dragon, and when Dynamic Dragon is sent from the grave to my hand, its second effect activates, allowing me to special summon it to the field, and that gives me the two monsters I need to sacrifice for Light and Darkness Dragon!"

Attacking with a combined blast of Darkness and Light, Light and Darkness Dragon's direct assault on Emi Tanaka brought the duel to a precisely calculated end. "If you ever want to duel me again, make sure that you're not so conceited about that deck that Amon Garam gave you."

"He didn't give it to me!" Emi Tanaka said while down on her knees, plainly unable to will herself back up. "I earned them, I made them mine, and their power is greater than any of the others beyond any measure!"

"…I do have a question, and since I've won, I'll make it my prize for this duel; how did Amon Garam find you anyway?" Manjoume didn't think it worth to ask her about the others; from her attitude, their existence to her was peripheral at best.

"He 'found' me, after I'd won a local tournament in my home town in Hokkaido during the Summer break, and I'd shown him how powerful I really was."

"That so?" Jun Manjoume turned and walked away; he knew that Head Nurse Ayukawa would find this information very useful in her investigation. Already, things were beginning to look up.


	13. Chapter 13

Insightful, Wise Amon Garam

"Hey Amon!" The voice of Shido Garam was bright and cheery as it came out of the speakers of Amon's computer, and his face from the other side of the camera was equally bright; he even had his tennis racket balanced against his shoulder. "I hope everything's working out for you at that Duel Academia place; Dad says that he thinks it's all a waste of time and money, but I told him that I believe in my Big Brother, and so does Echo!"

"Oh?" Amon Garam said with an amused expression on his face, his face resting against his chin. "I should hope that didn't come as a surprise to our father, and I should also hope that you've been keeping up with all your studies; the future head of the Garam group has to be well versed in many fields after all."

"Well…" Shido said, looking away in a gesture that Amon recognized quite well, "don't get me wrong, I'm trying really hard, but you always made it look so easy Amon. Sometimes I wonder why Dad doesn't just make you the heir, you're already practically everything that Dad could ever ask for in an heir."

"Ah, but what about Mother?" Amon said, still maintaining the pleasant, casual atmosphere that he treasured with his younger brother. "I think she might have a say in the matter, don't you?"

"I guess…" Shido said, the thought of his mother only now crossing his face. "But she's always so busy at so many social and business events…how can you be so sure she'd be against you inheriting the Garam group?"

"Trust me Shido, I know our mother a little better than you, and there are things she knows about me that you don't know; trust me, our parents know us both better than you might think, they have good reasons for thinking you'd be the better heir." He moved his hand out as though to ruffle Shido's hair, and despite the distance separating them, Shido stepped back like he was really there. "Now come on, I'm working really hard here to set everything up for you; I know if you apply yourself, you'll be more than capable of inheriting the Garam Group that I'll have set up for you."

"Oh, okay Big Brother Amon." Shido was only just a bit petulant; he was just a boy, Amon knew that he would grow out of it in time. "Oh, is Echo there? Can I talk to her for a bit?"

"Of course Shido." Echo said as she stepped out from directly behind Amon Garam. "Is there something that you wanted to know."

"No, not really…" Shido was blushing a bit, and Amon already knew what it was his younger brother was going to ask for. "I just, you haven't been here lately, so I was wondering if you would…if you would sing that song for me?"

"Of course Shido."

Amon knew that Echo was nowhere near the quality of the original singer of Midnight Blue, but he could see it plainly on Shido's face that he didn't care about technical issues of proficiency, only the feelings of peace and contentment that the song brought out in him when Echo sang it, especially the final verse. Indeed, by the time that she was done, he was practically nodding off, almost sedated.

"Thank you very much Echo." Shido bowed down formally before her. "Well, I need to get back to practice, but I'm glad to see that everything's working out for you two." The connection was then severed, and Amon and Echo looked into the blank monitor.

"Thank you again, Echo; Shido has no idea how thankful he should feel towards you." She said nothing, for there was nothing to say. They both remembered that day in exacting detail, the day years ago when Amon Garam contemplated murdering his younger brother, and it was only Echo's stern, yet faithful glare that stayed his hand. "Don't worry Shido, I've no desire to try and take back the Garam Group from you." Amon could not help but grin as he looked at the blank space where his brother's face once was. "After all, I've no need to be so petty, to aim so low, anymore."

Then his computer started to beep; Amon checked the monitor, and found that both Haruka Endo and Yuuto Inoue were trying to contact him. Conference calls were a trivial matter to arrange, so he did so.

"Mr. Garam!" The both of them said simultaneously, only just then realizing the presence of the other.

"Allow me to anticipate what you both have contacted me about; you each believe that you're on the cusp of making significant breakthroughs with your theories, and you're seeking my permission that you'll need to do to confirm or deny their validity. Am I correct?" Asking them was about politeness, not about the desire for an answer; he could see in their eyes that he was right. "Fortunately, I've been making certain arrangements over the past few days; if your theories are validated, they will prove most valuable for me as well. Echo will send you further instructions tonight, so be prepared to act at that time."

"Mr. Garam…you've been very helpful." Haruka Endo said, an edge of nervousness to her voice.

"…Forgive me for saying this sir, but you must've been watching us very closely to have set all this up they way you say you have." Yuuto Inoue said, expressing his own suspicions.

"Not at all; I simply make it a matter of mine to understand those who operate under me, that's all. When you've been trained and raised as I have, that sort of trick becomes simplicity itself. Now then, we all have a lot of work to do to fulfill the dreams of our hearts, so lets get to it, hum?"

"Yes sir." The two disconnected their respective connections, leaving Amon alone; Echo had already departed to her computer to finalize the instructions that she was to send to Yuuto and to Haruka.

"Cogito Ergo Sum." Amon Garam chuckled to himself. "You see Shido? I am about to expand the scope of the Garam Group considerably, just for you."

* * *

"I'm sorry, Mr. Manjoume." Head Nurse Ayukawa said, feeling more irritated than contrite. The depth of the dark rings beneath her eyes spoke of several sleepless nights for the Head Nurse. "But the information that you brought to me just didn't pan out."

"Hmph, so she was lying then?" Jun Manjoume found that hard to believe; Emi Tanaka may have had unusually strong fixation on the issue of power, but she definitely took dueling very seriously. "Are you certain you looked into all the tournaments that were held in the Hokkaido region during the break?"

"Not only did I look into all those tournaments, I've also been looking into finding some real information on all the other students that Amon Garam's brought in, and I've been observing both Professor Hibiki and Mr. Yuki's conditions very closely for any sign of improvement, potential or otherwise."

Manjoume looked over at them; ever since that day, the moment class was over and done with for the day, Judai would come into the Nurses' office, take his seat by Professor Hibiki, and watch over her until it was time for him to leave. Manjoume briefly wondered how he would have acted if it were his brothers who were in that condition…what brothers? It was only a matter until all remnant of any relationship between was gone forever. Judai was lucky to have at least one person in his family who really did care for him…

"What about Judai's family? Has anyone told them about what's happened here?"

"No!" Emi Ayukawa said as she whipped around at Manjoume, her teeth bared. "No, between everything I've been doing and all that I've had everyone under me doing, we've not had time to do something so meager as that!" Despite the outburst, Judai didn't react at all, and Ayukawa paused, rested her arms down on her desk and began to breathe in deeply, quickly. "…I seriously need to get some rest." She pressed down on the intercom. "Yun, would you please come in? I need you to take over the rest of my shift."

"Sure thing, Head Nurse Ayukawa." The tone of the voice on the other end suggested to Manjoume that this call had been expected, and Yun's swift arrival only corroborated that notion.

"Manjoume, if you have anymore questions, you'll have to direct them to Yun." She then left the office without another word.

Manjoume turned to the new nurse. "It's okay, Ms. Yun. I'll be getting out of your hair now."

Manjoume left the nurses' office, but he had no destination in mind; the brief high he'd experienced after defeating Emi Tanaka had now been worn down, the last nub of it gone. All that there was left to follow, the only trail that he could still see, was Kouyou Hibiki's declaration that they had to go after their dreams, fulfill the ambitions of their hearts or something like that. But who in their right mind would play a game where the rules were set by the enemy?

"Besides…" Manjoume muttered to himself as he walked down the hall. "What dreams do I have left anyway?" Manjoume shook his head violently in response to his own words. "What kind of nonsense is that? I've always been about proving myself to those who matter to me, to showing that my strength is my own. The only thing that's changed is that I have two fewer people that I have to prove anything to, that's all."

Somehow, those words did not bring him much comfort.

* * *

"Momiji!" Misawa yelled out, more shocked at himself than anything else. Momiji looked up from his work, wary at his dear friend's outburst. "Contact everyone and tell them to meet up at the Principal's office. I'll let Samejima know and that she should summon the other members of the faculty as well."

"Sure thing Misawa." As Momiji set about putting together a message to send to everyone, making sure to emphasize the importance of this meeting to Judai, Misawa sent a short and simple message to Principal Samejima.

"I've found out what we need to do. Summon the professors." With that out of the way, he left his room and marched his way to the principal's office. Momiji caught up with him not too long after that, but could see by the look on his face that Misawa would not speak until everyone had been gathered together. As they made their way together, one by one their friends joined them, each immediately sensing the intensity of purpose that was driving Misawa. Upon arriving at the Principal's office, everyone was there, even Judai, who was flanked by Asuka and Shou.

"Thank you everyone for coming here on such short notice." Misawa stood at the far end of the room, facing everyone. "I know that right now we're all very afraid and uncertain; I've been pondering what Kouyou Hibiki told us just before he left…" He paused to take a look at Judai, but he didn't seem too bothered; he would have kept going anyway of course, but he had to check. "He told us to obey our hearts and fulfill our dreams, and I don't know if he realized this or not, but my dreams as of late have turned to trying to discover more about the true nature of dueling. At first, it was simply a matter of wanting to help Duel Academia become more self-sufficient, but now it's a matter of trying to pull together and find out what we need to protect us all, and save those of us who've already been grievously injured."

"Truth be told, I don't know how we're going to do that, how we're to avoid another trap, be lured into a deadly duel that could cost us everything. But there is someone who can provide us the answers we need, someone we know…someone we can count on to remain exactly where they are until we go to see them."

A silence like the howling of angry spirits filled the room as the realization of who Misawa was talking spread from one person to the next, the same way a ripple spreads across a pool of water. Finally, Asuka spoke. "Daitokuji!" The expression in her eyes, the tension of her fists, their emotion was unequivocal. "What makes you think he knows anything about what's going on now, he's been locked away in the bowels of the Kaiba Corp tower for the past two years!"

"No, Asuka, he might know something after all." Manjoume was hesitant, not sure yet that he believed in what he was about to say. "It's like Daitokuji said when we confronted him two years ago; when I was young, I saw him dueling Kouyou Hibiki. He lost that duel, but what if he managed to do something to Kouyou anyway, put some fragment or piece of darkness or something that slept in him for years and years, and only started acting up now for some reason?"

Judai reacted to that. He raised his head, his eyes looked to have feeling in them once more. "Manjoume…I…maybe you're right, but…" It was disconcerting for everyone to see Judai acting this way, being this way, feeling this way. "When I dueled him, it felt so genuine, so real. I just don't see how any piece of Daitokuji could have been in there, and I, I really wanted to." Judai sighed, made himself breathe steadily. "I'm sorry guys, I know I'm really out of it right now…"

"It's okay Bro, we all understand." Shou put his hand on Judai's shoulder, and noticed that he'd actually grown a little bit; not much more then a centimeter or two, but it was something. "You don't need to make yourself do anything before your ready, we're all here to help, remember?"

"That's right Judai!" Rei said with barely squelched enthusiasm. "Look, believe me, I know how terrible this is for you Judai. When I found out that my cousin was working for Mizuchi last year…!" She covered her mouth in shock and turned to Mizuchi Saiou.

"It's okay Rei; you helped your cousin to save himself, and he helped me to save myself. There's no sense in treating the past as something shameful, to be avoided, even when it is unpleasant." Mizuchi made herself smile at Rei, and the effort brought considerable relief to the Second Year Osiris Red girl.

"Wait." Edo Phoenix said, his tone contemplative. "While Daitokuji's knowledge could be helpful, isn't there someone else we could speak to, someone who wouldn't be so dangerous to try to speak with?"

"You mean Isis Ishtar, don't you Edo?" The tone in Takuma Saiou's voice, his posture, they promised nothing good. "I'm afraid…I've already spoken with her." He spoke at length, telling them all what he'd learned.

* * *

"Ms. Ishtar, thank you for granting me this time with you." Takuma Saiou idly wondered how Isis Ishtar appeared on the other end; he'd seen pictures of her of course, but he'd never met her in person, and it seemed that she had yet to obtain a video-phone or a web-camera or anything like that. The simple office phone seemed to be enough for her purposes.

"It's no trouble at all, Mr. Saiou; today has been rather slow, and I've heard rumors about what's happened over at Seto Kaiba's Duel Academia."

"I see…I was unaware that the rumors had spread so far, so quickly."

"You shouldn't; your own Association of Light grew and spread with incredible speed." Takuma Saiou was struck once more with the weight of what he'd done, his fear that he would never be able to redeem himself of it encroaching upon him once more.

"I'm sorry, I can't make any excuses for what I…"

"You don't have to; my own brother Malik did something quite similar, though the scope of his actions were both lesser and greater than your own. That experience prepared Malik, Rishid, and I quite well to defend ourselves in the wake of your actions. Besides which," And at this Isis Ishtar's tone became much warmer, "Seto Kaiba has told me that you've been doing a fine job redeeming yourself as the new Osiris Red professor, along with your sister."

"Really? That means a lot…but that's not why I called; out of everyone in the world right now, you are the one with the most direct, intimate, and comprehensive knowledge of the occult powers and principals behind dueling. Please, is there anything you can tell me, anything that can help us to stop Amon Garam and Kouyou Hibiki and restore Midori Hibiki? Anything at all?" The memories of Midori and the others saving his sister when he could not rang through his heart. He had to save them, had to be there for them…

"I would like to be able to help you, but the truth is that you overestimate my capabilities and knowledge; my understanding of the occult is limited to the Millennium Items, and those have been gone from this world for more than a decade. Dueling itself has grown in leaps and bounds in a way that I would not have thought possible, despite all that I've witnessed and done in my time. As such, I don't have the answers that you want of me, but I can tell you this."

"Sometimes it may seem as though you are powerless, that all the powers of the world and the will of ancient gods are all set against you. But there is nothing stronger than the human heart that has been joined with other hearts, united as one. I've seen this, and you've seen this. No matter what power that Kouyou Hibiki is drawing upon, no matter what schemes Amon Garam may be plotting, you will be able to overcome it. This is the task that we, who fought and struggled through our sorrow at Battle City, have entrusted to Duel Academia. You've become a part of that power, so embrace it."

"I see…thank you Isis Ishtar. You've given me a lot to think about. Thank you for your time, and goodbye." As Takuma Saiou closed the connection, he fell into his seat. "The power of Duel Academia…"

* * *

"So, it's up to us to figure all this out then? We've got to find out the answers on our own." Junko Makita's brow was furrowed. "Yeah, it would have been nice if the Ishtars could have just told us everything we needed to know, but we've gotten through on our own before, we'll just do it again!"

"That's right!" Momoe Hamaguchi said as she clasped Junko's hand. "We've got the backing of the Legendary Duelists behind us, and Daitokuji's got nothing going for him, so lets go ahead drag whatever we can out of that warped skull of his and put it to proper use!" The mania with which Momoe spoke became reflected in the expressions of all those around her; even Judai managed a small smile for the first time in days.

"Hmm, I guess we're all in agreement that this plan is worth pursuing." Momiji Todo said, smiling a little on the inside that Misawa's insight had begun to restore the beleaguered spirits of his friends. "Now we need to decide who will head to Kaiba Corp to confront Daitokuji, and who'll remain here to protect Duel Academia from whatever depredations Amon Garam may have in mind."

"Well," Professor Chronos said, "It is unfortunate, but we members of the faculty will have to remain here, that our solidarity might give Amon Garam pause and cause to give second thought to any notion that he might have that he's made any meaningful advance against us with his cowardly assault against our Professor Midori Hibiki!"

"Well spoken, Professor Chronos." Samejima smiled at the odd blond man; he really was a man who had the good of everyone in his heart, even if he had odd ways of showing it. "As for the group that will depart for the Kaiba Corp tower…" She looked over all the students before her, studying each only for a moment. "Daichi Misawa, Asuka Tenjouin, Momiji Todo, and Jun Manjoume. I believe that the four of you are best equipped to handle this. I will begin making the arrangements immediately, so be prepared to depart tomorrow. Everyone, make sure you get a good night's rest, you are all dismissed.

"Judai, are you sure you'll be okay?" Asuka and Judai stood just outside the nurse's office.

"Yeah, I will be. I'm just going to go and tell Midori what's going on, and then I'll go back to my room to get some rest." There was a moment of silence, and then Judai suddenly wrapped his arms around Asuka, holding on tight. "You'll be okay, right? Even if Daitokuji tries something, you'll be okay, right?"

Asuka Tenjouin brought her arms around him just as tight. "Of course Judai. Of course…" Asuka briefly worried that Judai wouldn't let go, but after a few more seconds he did. "I'll always be here for you, just how you've always been there for me."

Judai didn't say anything after that. He just smiled, and Asuka could see that it was only a little forced now. He stepped into the Nurse's office, and she departed for her room at the Obelisk Blue dorm. She walked in silence, walked without excess thought, walked with the voice of doubt and fear stilled within her heart.

"Hello Asuka." The moment Asuka opened her door, she was greeted be Echo's voice; the woman stood there, waiting for her. "Do you understand now, why I defeated you so effortlessly, the source of my strength?"

Asuka calmly closed the door behind her, then spoke firmly. "What are you even doing here? I thought your loyalty was entirely to Amon Garam; do you really expect me to believe that you're going behind his back to help me become stronger?"

"Not at all; I am Amon Garam's herald, his knight. It is through my dueling that I proclaim his greatness and crush his enemies beneath my heel…but for their to be true glory for us, there must be an opponent against who I can struggle, an enemy that will force me to draw upon all of my power. Without that, the dream that Amon Garam and I have dedicated our lives to, will only be a shadow of what it could be."

"Hmph, I get it now; you think that if I become your 'worthy opponent', it'll give some legitimacy to Amon's petty little schemes. This is supposed to give me cause to become like you, to…get rid of Midori so that Judai will only have me in his heart?"

"That would indeed be the most direct path for you to become worthy, Asuka Tenjouin, but you can take your time and erase Midori's presence in Judai's heart gradually, until she becomes nothing more than another teacher to him, and you become his everything, able to perform miracles on his behalf. For example, tonight you could share with Judai that which no one else can provide him, bring him the comfort that will blot out all else from his mind and heart."

"Get the hell out!" The veins around Asuka's eyes became pronounced as her pulse pounded throughout her whole body. "The next time I see you, I'll destroy you!"

"Is that what I get for trying to be tactful, metaphorical even?" Echo walked past Asuka, plainly unafraid of the enraged young woman. "Just remember; it'll be up to you whether all this struggle, battle, and suffering, will be worth it in the end."

With that, Echo left, and Asuka could do nothing but let her anger smolder in her heart. "Well, at least I'll have the chance to vent this anger on someone who deserves it tomorrow."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Midnight Blue is the song that plays during the credits for Slayers: The Motion Picture. It is sung by Megumi Hayashibara, and I felt that referencing a real song rather then trying to make one up or just saying 'a song' was preferable. Once again, I hope that you've enjoyed this chapter.


	14. Chapter 14

Unrepentant, Depraved Daitokuji

"So, do you think he knew?" Yuuto Inoue's voice broke the tempo set by the propellers of the private helicopter provided by Amon Garam. "That Momiji and the others were also going to be heading to Kaiba Corp today as well?" He'd been thinking about it on his own for now, discretely observing Momiji and the others in the days following Kouyou Hibiki's arrival and departure from Duel Academia. He'd found it…bizarre, that on the cusp of an impending event of great importance, the scope of their actions and desires seemed so small. The world was reaching its peak of change for the era, and their only intent was to help save one unfortunate victim of that change? No, he had to remain focused, he had to remember that his work could change everything for everyone, and forget about the few who'd inevitably suffer along the way.

Haruka Endo looked up from the delicate piece of instrumentation that she was gently tossing from one hand to the other. "Probably. He does keep acting like he knows everything. I would imagine it has something to do with that Kouyou Hibiki person." She thought of the strange powers that he seemed to exhibit; she'd watched his duels against Professor Hibiki and Judai Yuki closely, and found that the power he used against them, the strength that he drew on, it almost looked like the ideal that she was trying to recreate with her research, but there was something…off? For whatever reason, she couldn't find the words she was looking for, but she knew there was more she had to figure out, and she would do it on her own.

"That's not hard to believe; I mean, you've taken a look at these instruments that he provided with." He paused to look over the device in his hands. "This is exactly the sort of device that I've been working on in my research, only much more advanced, and I'm pretty sure your device is the sort of thing you'd create if you had the resources of the Garam group at your disposal."

"So what hypothesis do you propose to explain this then? That Amon Garam's been using our research notes without telling us?" Haruka took a moment to open up a small compartment of the device. She smiled after a moment of study, and then showed it to Yuuto. "Well, that hypothesis has been discredited. Look, you see this array of circuitry? That's something I've only ever thought about, I've never gotten around to putting it down on paper or on a disc or anything like that. So either it's just one big coincidence, or else Kouyou Hibiki took the time to read our minds and send the secrets to Amon, and I don't see the point of that, much less how it would be possible."

"Are you sure there isn't another possibility?" Yuuto Inou rubbed as his temples for a bit. "I mean that…suppose that…" He became very irritated that he was getting a headache, just as the conversation was becoming interesting. "Look, there're other possibilities, even if we can't think of them right now, but for the time being, let's focus on the task at hand, and test our theories to the utmost extent made available to us by Amon Garam."

"That is true; no matter how much you learn, whether it's about the world, or about yourself, there's always more to learn." Haruka Endo herself felt the beginnings of a headache, but she found that studying the devices they were provided with, regardless of how peculiar their existence was, soothed her mind.

"All right you two." The pilot of the helicopter spoke through the intercom, his tone clipped and professional. "We'll be arriving at our destination in five minutes, so make sure that you are wearing the masks and gloves provided to you by Amon Garam."

* * *

"Well, we're almost there you guys." The elevator stopped as it reached the bottom floor of the Kaiba Corp tower. "Hold on a second, I have to confirm a few security measures…" Asuka, Misawa, Momiji, and Manjoume watched as Mokuba Kaiba began to enter various codes, some of which seemed to be duplicated, and one of which seemed to involve a backspace. Finally, the elevator door opened. "The research we do on this level involves so many trade secrets, so this level already had the perfect security needed to hold someone like Daitokuji." Mokuba stepped out and led the group through the winding and twisting path of the hallway, never once pausing to decide which fork to take. "Seto doesn't talk about it, but he blames himself for letting Daitokuji into Duel Academia in the first place. It doesn't matter what I say to him, his mind's made up, but at least it means that there's no one else on Earth more determined to make him suffer for his crimes."

"That's good." Asuka didn't care to help herself on this; ever since her encounter with Echo the previous night, she knew that she'd be using Daitokuji as her emotional punching bag, and she knew that there was no one who would object to that at all.

"There're quite a few rooms down here." Misawa was, if anything, understating the issue; over the past five minutes, they'd passed by at least 30 doors, and considering all the branches and paths that they hadn't taken…

"I imagine each room is performing it's own specialized branch of research, and each experiment has to be isolated from each other as much as possible." Even as he said that, Momiji had his doubts, but this was not a situation where pursuing those doubts would constitute a good idea.

"I'm curious Mokuba," Manjoume said, his head cocked in the other direction, "Have you actually had any trouble keeping Daitokuji locked up and under observation?"

"No Manjoume, we've not. But just because the prisoner's been on his best behavior, doesn't mean that we've relaxed our watch or allowed him any privileges beyond those needed for survival. You'll be able to see that for yourself in just a moment." Mokuba turned around the corner, and the hall finally came to an end. The door was flanked by a pair of security guards, one male and one female, each of them armed with the latest stun-guns, supposedly powerful enough to take down a bull elephant. Mokuba addressed them both. "They have the proper clearance, please step back." Both figures bowed slightly to Mokuba, and stepped into alcoves on opposite walls of the hall. Mokuba then began the long and involved process of entering the final security codes. At several points he had to undo some previous code he'd entered, and there were even a few where he had to change it. "All right guys," Mokuba said as the final code was confirmed, "I'll be heading back now, but if anything happens, the full power of Kaiba Corp will be here in less than an instant to help."

As Mokuba followed the route back to the elevator, the locks and seals of the door began to undo themselves. Suddenly, the door slid open in less than a second; inside was a small Spartan room, a table in the middle to eat off of, a bathroom the size of a closet, and sitting on a hard flat bed barely off the ground, was Daitokuji.

"…You." He looked haggard, he'd lost weight somehow, and while his hair was still quite long, it had become thin and brittle. "What brings you all here, subjects of my experiment?" He still had his glasses, that much had been left to him. "Hmm, only four of you, and one I don't recognize at all…where are Judai, Shou, Junko, Momoe, Hayako, Fubuki, and Ryoko?"

"What do you think you're doing, asking questions?" Asuka stormed up to Daitokuji and grabbed him by the collar; he felt so weak and frail, she could just snap in two… "We didn't come to tell you all about what's happening in the world that you don't deserve, we've come to drag whatever information we can out of that fetid pit you call a skull!"

"Hmm…Asuka, you've changed a lot since the last time I'd seen you; I can see it in your eyes, the change in your soul, like another power has dared to tamper with my work." Asuka could not believe this…creature; even now he refused to show any sign of fear, in a perverse attempt to put her off her guard, but she refused to let him succeed! "What is this though, this power? I almost recognize it…"

Asuka shoved Daitokuji back down on his bed. "Kouyou Hibiki. You dueled against him years ago. What did you do to him then? Answer me!" Out of the corner of her eye, Asuka saw movement, but she refused to be distracted by it. "If you even dare try to lie, or to mislead me, I'll…" She felt something on her shoulder.

"Asuka, you need to calm down!" Manjoume's voice…she let it in, she allowed it to reach her heart. She gave herself a moment to look away from Daitokuji and over to Manjoume. "Asuka, please, I know you're frustrated…but you're going to have to wait a little bit before you start tearing into him, or else this entire trip will be pointless." She breathed in and out, trying to accept on an emotional level the validity of his words.

Daitokuji turned his attention to Manjoume. "Hmm, you've been touched by the same power as well, Manjoume. A second sample…" Then he turned back to Asuka, his brow furrowed. "Wait, Kouyou Hibiki? What does he have to do with anything? All I did was duel him in some high level tournament years ago, I've no idea what you're asking me about. What did I do to him? What is there for me to have done to him? As manifest as his power as a duelist was to me, the fragility of his condition was just as obvious, so I never wasted much time or thought on him. Heh, if not for his sister being at Duel Academia, I'd have likely forgotten about him entirely."

"So you're saying you really didn't do anything to Kouyou Hibiki?" Misawa stepped forward, projecting a confining presence onto Daitokuji. "I suppose that this means you believe that there is someone else out there, performing research and experiments that exceed your ability to imagine, and through Kouyou Hibiki they've achieved a success far beyond your 'Wave of Destruction'; it's almost like you're the alchemist to their chemist, all your work nothing but a pale shadow of what's to come."

Daitokuji looked intently into Misawa's eyes. "That's very amusing of you Misawa, trying to provoke a reaction from me. No doubt you believed that I would, in a moment of agitation and indignation, give away some secret that I've been withholding. But the truth is that you've been revealing something interesting to me. No, nothing to do with Kouyou Hibiki, I've no idea why you keep bringing him up, but you've been tampered with by the same power that did its work upon Asuka and Manjoume. Hmm, who is your new friend? I don't recall ever seeing him before…" Daitokuji tried to move Misawa out of his way, but he was far too weak, too frail in his present condition to ever do such a thing. He sighed. "Very well, if you would please cooperate with me on this, I'll share with you what I'm about to learn, and maybe a few other details, depending on just what it is I'm seeing here in all of you."

"Don't worry Misawa." Momiji gently pulled Misawa aside. "This man is no longer capable of performing the actions he did back during our first year." He looked Daitokuji square in the eye. "No, all you can do now is watch, and wait for your life to finally run out. After all I've seen you do, that is the most appropriate fate I can imagine for you."

"The way you keep talking, it makes me think that you might have been there, but I honestly have no recognition of you. Well, you were never a subject of my experiments, you never received the power that I cultured, so that doesn't concern me. What does concern me though, is that I can see the traces of that same power again." Daitokuji then sat back on his bed. "It is such a peculiar form for that power to take though; none of the tomes that I studied suggested that a Ka could take on such a diffuse form. Perhaps if I'd managed to obtain the Millennium Tome after all, then this would not be a mystery at all."

"A Ka?" Asuka's eyes opened wide with shock. "That, that's the part of the soul that the Ancient Egyptians used the Millennium Items to summon, the monsters that served as the inspiration for Pegasus to create Duel Monsters in the first. So then, that would mean that that's the power that Takuma and Mizuchi Saiou used, that was their Ka?" The memory of that final duel with Takuma, of that final, all-powerful monster that he'd summoned, it's nature was now clear to her. "He'd said that all the monsters came from our souls, but at the time, his and his sister's power, they seemed so different from ours…" Takuma's Tarot deck, Mizuchi's mirrors, had they really had any significance at all?

"A mistake that I would have expected of you subjects; you've only a fragment of an understanding of the true nature of the power that you all wield, and even I would not have expected one human soul to have manifested a Ka like this, much less two. If only I had access to my notes, my instruments, I could study these Saiou siblings, and expand my research even further."

Asuka grabbed at Daitokuji's collar, almost spat in his face. "Look at yourself for a second! You are trapped down here, all alone, and no one is coming to rescue you! Do you seriously expect us to believe that you're still only concerned with your research after all this time?"

Daitokuji's eyes narrowed. "What is there for me to say? I've made my decisions, I've no intention of having any regrets, especially when I can see that the subjects of my research are still continuing to develop the powers that I've cultivated in them…" Daitokuji paused for a moment. "Your soul…it has become incomplete, part of it is missing. Your Ka…it has somehow become fragmented, yet I can't see any external force behind it…you gave it away, didn't you Asuka? Kuriboh."

"You can tell even that?" Could that…

"Hmm, I think I can…yes, I believe I can trace it, the connection between your soul, and the portion that you've let loose." Asuka could hardly believe it; were they…were they going to find out something after all?

"Hmph, well, it's not quite the way you might have expected it Misawa, but it looks like we might get some information we can use after all" Manjoume said in an aside to Misawa, feeling the awakening presence of the Light and Darkness Dragon within him.

"Indeed. But lets still be careful." Misawa could hear it, the growling of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"I still don't believe we have anything we need to fear from this man, but caution is never an ill-advised virtue." Momiji could feel it, even in these underground cave of steel and cables, the pulse of the earth. He was ready.

And so all three of them watched and waited as Daitokuji gazed so intently into Asuka's eyes, not seeing into them, but far beyond where they were.

* * *

"Judai, what are you doing here?" Ms. Tome said as she looked up from her computer, her tone surprised yet her tone pleasant. There was a definite tension to his movements, like part of him still wanted to be elsewhere, but there was a definite familiar determination there.

"Oh, hi Ms. Tome. Rei and Shou…they told me that I should get something for Midori for when she wakes up. Personally, I think they just wanted me to get some fresh air, and since Asuka and the others are going to interrogate Daitokuji…" Judai frowned for a moment at the thought of it; he trusted Asuka, and she was far from alone, but if he'd been in any condition to go… "Anyway, I'm not sure what to get for Midori; usually I just get her a card for stuff like her birthday, but, you know, this isn't the usual situation, is it?"

"I should say not, Judai!" She got up from her seat and walked around the counter to him, turning her face into a grim frown. "Professor Hibiki is like a sister to you, so if she finds out that her precious little brother couldn't even get a proper gift for her after missing her for so long…" Ms. Tome found that she couldn't keep it up, and snickered a bit. "Judai, you're her precious little brother; she'll treasure any gift you get for her."

"Ah, you thank you so Ms. Tome?" Bit by bit, it seemed like the weight on Judai's shoulders was being lifted off, but there was just so much of it. "I'll go look around, see if I can't find something for her on my own." Judai started going down the aisles, the beginning of what would no doubt prove to be a brief search.

Ms. Tome then returned to her computer, checked the e-mail one more time, and was very pleasantly surprised to find that she'd finally gotten a response to one of her many missives sent out across the net.

"Greetings, Ms. Tome!" Mrs. Wong said, the bold font of her message a perfect match for her bold mode of speech. "I just found your email in my inbox, and as it so happens, I happen to be in Paris, and that just so happens to be where Jounouchi and Mai are hanging out for the time being. It'll probably take a while, prior engagements and all that, but I'll get those "legends" down to Duel Academia as soon as I can for you. After all, you're the one who introduced that darling nephew of yours to me!"

"Well, there's some good news at least." Ms. Tome then turned her head, and saw Judai approaching her with a trophy in his hands. She quickly closed the message, wanting to spring the surprise at just the right moment. "All right Judai, let's see what you picked out."

* * *

"The brat's memories are obviously unreliable." Daitokuji spoke with a snarl, a scowl on his face as he turned away from Asuka. "His incessant fondness for that clown Kouyou has tainted his every perception of him, turning him into some sort of titan in his eyes." He spat out, he actually spat out into the corner. "The very notion that that insipid, incurious fool could happen on that kind of power…" He turned back to Asuka and the others. "You've come a long way to try and deceive me with a manifestly obvious sham. I am not fooled at all, so you may depart now."

Everyone stared in shock at the sudden outburst, the change in Daitokuji's behavior, his demeanor, even the very way he carried himself. "I don't believe this." Asuka said in a low voice, her fist shaking. "All this time, you've acted like some sort of emotionless monster, all this time I saw you as this heartless fiend who nearly destroyed my brother, just to further your research…and now it turns you're just a petulant child!"

"Asuka?" Manjoume knew that he was missing something, some piece of the puzzle that would make sense of what Daitokuji and Asuka were saying.

"If you believe that the words of an ignorant tool of my work will be able to affect me, you're sorely mistaken."

Asuka could hear it, the tension in his voice; when he'd lost his duel against Midori, he'd lost his cool, but this nervous bluster of his was something entirely new. "All that talk, about your research being for its own sake, that no ones life mattered, not even your own, that was all just a lie, wasn't it? You probably lied to yourself too, but you saw the truth, and it broke you, broke all your deceptions. You said it, remember? That Kouyou 'stumbled' upon that power? All your hard work, all your research, all your crimes in an effort to bolster up your own ego in order to prove your greatness, your brilliance, to leave your mark on the world, it's all been effortlessly eclipsed without even trying, without any regard for all your struggles."

Daitokuji was silent for a moment, his fingers curled into such tight balls that it seemed his palms would start bleeding. "…All that effort to tap into the Darkness of the human soul, to surpass and suppress the Light of the human soul to leave the Darkness unfettered…the very notion that someone like him, that oblivious fool, could tap into the collective souls of all humanity, it is absurd!"

"The collective souls?" Momiji and Misawa spoke at the same time, and they rapidly approached the same conclusions.

"How wretched…" Daitokuji seemed to collapse into himself. "And after saying that you could not provoke me, after trying to gain information from you all while giving nothing in return…" Daitokuji drew himself back up, or at least he tried. "The artifact I created may have been destroyed by you, but you're still holding the power that I gave you, which makes you the legacy of my research. It is therefore your responsibility to demonstrate to Kouyou Hibiki that he is NOTHING, nothing, compared to the power of Shadow Alchemy that I've recreated in this day and age."

"No, Daitokuji; your only legacy was the pain and suffering, the anguish and torment, that you inflected on us all, and that legacy is one that we've overcome a long time ago." Asuka turned around abruptly, the tail of her coat whipping against Daitokuji. "Come on everyone, we're done….?" She felt it, they all felt it, a huge pressure descended on all their souls.

From outside the room came an anguished scream, and then a body was thrown into the room with great force, slamming against the wall. A moment's glance was all that was needed to see that it was the body of the male guard, and the stifled scream outside spoke to the female guard's fate as well. Suddenly, Daitokuji got off of his bed and stepped forward.

"Now the fool seeks to flaunt his power before me, when I am at my nadir, and he at his zenith? What convenient timing he has…" He looked ahead intently, observing the being that entered the room.

"Gearfried…the Iron Knight?" It indeed looked like the monster that Misawa had identified it as…and yet, how could move around like that on its own, how could have… "Did that really kill the two guards? Why? And how?"

"Misawa, I should be ashamed that you haven't figured it out yet." Daitokuji said with something resembling his usual blasé confidence. "This solid vision hologram is being infused with the primal power of the earth, the resting primal souls of mere animals, and that power is being focused in on itself, that should be obvious just to look at it. A clever trick, a convenient method to wipe out the entirety of the Kaiba Corp Tower in one go, all with the perfect cover." As Daitokuji spoke, 'Gearfried' looked around, its view settling on each duelist present.

The shuffle of metal against metal was the only warning before 'Gearfried' launched its attack, almost teleporting up to its target, such was its alacrity. Asuka could not have hoped to have reacted in time, none of them could have.

Yet someone did, and that person interposed themselves between the monster and Asuka.

"DAITOKUJI!" Asuka saw it, the blow that punched right through Daitokuji's stomach, the virtual sensation vastly exceeding his pain threshold. In the instant that 'Gearfried' was absorbed by what had happened, Asuka acted; she armed her duel disc, drew her cards, and summoned Cold Enchanter. She discarded one card, and froze Gearfried in place, and Cold Enchanter shattered the monster, the solid vision breaking apart under the strain.

Like the two guards, there was no obvious trauma, save for the telltale signs of one who'd been overwhelmed by the liminality inducing power of the Solid Vision system, amplified to an unthinkable extent.

"I was right." Daitokuji muttered, his breathing horse, barely controlled at all anymore. "I knew it would go after my most powerful tool, and I could never let what remains of my research…meet such an ignominious end." His chest convulsed for a moment, and then he stopped breathing.

Asuka stared down at Daitokuji's corpse. "Even a selfish purpose can have a noble end…" She had only a moment to think on the implications of this, of what it meant about Kouyou Hibiki, for she and the others could hear it, feel it, the presence of many more monsters.

"Everyone!" Manjoume yelled out, focusing everyone's wills. "We have to find the ones responsible for this, and put a stop to it!" And so they ran out, leaving behind the corpse of the man who was once known as Daitokuji.


	15. Chapter 15

Refined, Powerful Seto Kaiba

"Takara Yoshida, Hachirou Sasaki, I'm glad that the two of you could make it." Amon Garam smiled beneficently at the images of the two students that he'd sponsored appeared on his monitor. "Right now Haruka Endo and Yuuto Inoue have been sent off the island to perform an important errand for me, but for you two, this task will not require you to go anywhere at all. Now, Takara, I would like you to resume your efforts in forming your…Amon's Army, I believe you called it?

"Yes, Amon Garam; I knew that only your name would be appropriate enough to convey the noble nature of the purpose I'm trying to fulfill. I've held off for the time being because of Junko Makita, but if you think that the time is right for me to act, then know that I will assemble a loyal army for you the likes of which has never before been seen in the Dueling World."

"That would indeed be quite the accomplishment, Takara." It would indeed, for while Amon Garam had not been a direct witness to the events concerning the Association of Light, he had studied up on them. There was no sense in bringing that up though, since he wanted to encourage her in her ambitions; that was, after all, the condition set by Kouyou Hibiki. "But it would be unfair to ask you to handle such an important on your own, without any support at all." Amon turned his eyes slightly to the right, focusing on Hachirou Sasaki. "That is why I've called you, Hachirou."

"Me? I'm…I'm flattered as always, Mr. Garam, that you believe so highly of me, but Momoe Hamaguchi, she believes that there is something seriously wrong with me, and Head Nurse Ayukawa agrees, and thinks that I shouldn't speak to you, Mr. Garam, because she's worried that you would take advantage of my condition and have me act against my better interests, since I do such a poor job of taking care of myself, and that's why I tried to defeat Momoe Hamaguchi, to show her the inspiring effect that she had on me, sir."

"Do not worry what Head Nurse Ayukawa has to say on the matter; after all, she has yet to solve the mystery of how to rouse Professor Hibiki from her state, her medical advice is not quite to the standard that I can provide you with, Hachirou." He smirked at how easy it all was. "Besides, I'm sure that if she were pressed, even she would be forced to admit that all the great duelists of our time have exhibited eccentricities of one variety or another." Amon wondered if Hachirou would catch that contradiction just then. He did not. "No, I am entirely certain that if you provide your aid to Takara, you will obtain the strength of soul needed to defeat Momoe Hamaguchi. After all, your synchronization rating is at eighty-seven percent; you should only need to achieve ninety percent to achieve your goals."

"Thank you, thank you very much Mr. Garam," and then Hachirou turned to Takara, "and don't you worry, I won't disappoint you, I'll do whatever I can to establish and retrain the greatest dueling army in the world for you."

"Now there's a good attitude if I've ever heard one." Takara Yoshida said with a chuckle. "I don't see what anyone could find wrong with that, but if one Junko Makita does…she won't be getting away from us that easily."

"Very good you two. I will leave and let you two confer for a bit amongst yourselves, privately." Amon Garam severed his connection, turned in his seat, and found cause to smile. After all the time and effort he had put into this endeavor, the issue of success or failure had become irrelevant.

* * *

"Haruka, we need to get out of here, now!" Yuuto Inoue knew that if he went back to Amon Garam without Haruka Endo with him, it would end very poorly for him. This was the only reason that he didn't run already, after everything had plainly gone so wrong. "Hurry up, there's no telling when one of those Pseudo-Monsters is going to head back here to attack us!" Still, despite his efforts, she would not budge from her position at the control console for the Kaiba Corp Central Duel Ring Server.

"I'm not worried about them; your style of dueling will just drain them of all their power before they can even attack, so they're no concern of mine. No, what bothers me is that I can't find a reason for why we were unable to maintain control over them; there's nothing in any of the programming of the equipment that Amon Garam provided us with, that would prompt them to behave this way." Haruka silently cursed her unfamiliarity with the operating system that the server used, how it seemed needlessly counterintuitive to the task that she was trying to accomplish. Here she was, trying to be in control, trying to use her skill, ability, and power to take control of the situation, and yet… "What the hell?" Some sort of command was being routed through the Duel Ring Server, and before she could even begin to identify it, the door that they'd sealed shut behind them slammed open in an instant.

"It must be an emergency evacuation measure." Yuuto Inoue said, checking to make sure that his mask was still on properly. He also noted the bodies in the room, and was forced to abandon the notion that they were faking their deceased conditions to throw them off guard. "We need to get out of here now, before more unexpected variables arise."

"Hold on a second…there!" She'd found something that they could use, data that could be studied at leisure at a later date. "All right Yuuto, we can get out of here now, hopefully Amon Garam will be able to make sense of this." After all, why should one arbitrary high-level monster receive a greater concentration of the power that had created the other Pseudo-Monsters, and why would it be heading towards the top floor, as opposed to patrolling the area where it achieved its semblance of life?

* * *

"Damn it, is there no end to these things!" Manjoume yelled as his Golem Dragon blocked the attack of a Giant Rat. "And tell me I'm not the only one who's feeling that draining sensation." To be more accurate, it was a slight numbness in his shoulder, but he didn't have the time to be more precise, and besides, he already had his suspicions about what it meant.

"Considering the sheer number of rooms where studies of various new Solid Vision systems were being conducted, I have to imagine that we are going to be drained of all our energies before we are able to eliminate them all." Momiji Todo had his Ultimate Insect Level 5 attack a Terror King Salmon that was about to eliminate Manjoume's Golem Dragon, and with its evolved power it was able to triumph.

"I suppose it would be too much to ask that there be a king monster that we could topple to get rid of the others." Asuka stated simply as her Blizzard Princess froze an entire column of the monsters down the hallway, and yet the effort was so exhausting, she'd have to uncommon her as soon as she was able.

"Actually, I think that's exactly what's going on here." Misawa peered intently up at the ceiling. "The Nine-Tailed Fox, it's letting me know up above, that there's a monster that's drawing on the majority of the power being directed to the other monsters. If we can overpower and destroy it in just the right fashion, it could cripple the rest of the monsters, eliminate them even."

"If that's the case, then I will expedite our journey to that monster." Momiji than activated his Deep Forest Field Spell Card. In truth, the physical confines of the halls did not change, but with the altered nature of the Solid Vision system in the Kaiba Corp Tower, it became possible for him and the others to maneuver around the monsters without the risk of attack.

Eventually, they made their way to the elevator, and as with everything else, all security measures had been disabled, which was rather fortunate, as none of them had the slightest hope of being able to enter the security codes on their own.

"So, Misawa, do you have a more precise idea of how high we've got to go? Would the top floor be appropriate?" Manjoume said, finding it difficult to keep the scoff out of his voice. Honestly, what was happening now, it seemed like the sort of thing you'd find in a, a…

"Actually Manjoume, I think you're right." Misawa seemed more surprised about that than anyone else. "As trite and cliché as it sounds, I do believe that our target has gone for the top floor of the tower."

"It's a distraction." Asuka said, her thoughts growing ever heavier. "All of these monsters are here to clear everyone else out, one way or another, so that the real target can be isolated."

"Seto Kaiba." Momiji, being closest to the keypad, immediately punched in the top floor, where Seto Kaiba's office was located. And even though the elevator was state of the art, there was still quite a ways to go to reach the top floor from the very bottom. They all knew that hoping would not make the elevator go any faster, but they couldn't help doing so, and after a full minute, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened. They ran out, ran through the waiting room, and into Seto Kaiba's office. Inside, they saw it, the monster that stood opposite of the Kaiba Brothers.

* * *

"How quaint, Buster Blader." Seto Kaiba said, almost with a smile on his face. "Who in the world could possibly have the intellect and resources necessary for such a farce, yet could remain lucid enough despite the obvious madness?"

"This is no farce, Seto Kaiba." Seto noticed the Duel Academia students behind the monster, noticed them staring in shock at the monster's deep, rumbling voice. Hmph, if something like that could catch them off guard, they still had so much more to learn. "I…I…yes, I am here to challenge you, Seto Kaiba."

Seto noticed that one of them, the girl, was about to say something. He held his arm out, it was enough to silence her and her peers. "Someone went through a lot of trouble to deceive a collection of holograms and data points, into believing that it had a mind that could be fooled. I'd ask why, but how would you know? Know anything at all, that is."

"You are presumptuous and ignorant, Seto Kaiba; you see only that which stands before you, and not that which is all around you, invisible; my very being is driven by those of this earth that share a dream in common, to see that you are at last defeated for good. The Duel King may have shown his mercy to you, but I shall not!"

"Is that so? A vehicle for blind, petty resentment…" A contemplative mood came over Seto Kaiba. "It makes me wonder if you're capable of transcending your origins." Almost imperceptibly, Seto motioned to Mokuba, and Mokuba understood. His younger brother discretely pressed a few buttons, and the ceiling began to open up, as the very room itself began to move up. "You're being used in an effort to kill me, and the rest of your 'minions' have already killed more than a dozen of my employees. Therefore, in the interest of preventing further collateral damage to my company, I'm going to insist that this be handled in a proper duel. Who knows, maybe you'll even win, and prove yourself to be more than just a simulacrum of a duelist." Seto Kaiba took out his Duel Disc from his desk, and armed it.

"Very well, Seto Kaiba; I shall defeat you on your terms, and then I shall kill you!" Buster Blader stuck its sword out, using it as a makeshift Duel Disk. "With this blade of vengeance, I shall prove to you the strength of my soul!"

"You poor deluded…no, not even a fool. Now, I will take the first turn, and I will summon The White Stone of Legend in defense position." It was the size of a human child, and the white light that glowed from within it was on occasion blocked by the shadow of something that dwelled within it. Seto Kaiba paused for a moment, feeling a stirring in his soul that he hadn't truly felt in years. "Now, I'll set one card, and end my turn."

"As I would have expected of you, Seto Kaiba, but know that all of your Dragons, will be helpless before the Sword of Justice! I summon Dragonslayer in attack position!" A flash of light, and a knight wielding a sword bigger than itself manifested on the field. "Attack!" With one swing of that sword, The White Stone of Legend was crushed. "And now Dragonslayer's effect activates; you are forced pick up cards from your deck, until you find a Dragon monster, and then that monster gets sent to your grave, and your deck is reshuffled."

"Hm, is that so? Gee, I wonder what you, Buster Blader, could possibly be aiming for? In any event, my Permanent Trap card, Hymn of the Weak, will be resolved first." A soft, gentle keening could be heard across the field. "When a level four or lower monster is destroyed and sent to my grave, I can add another monster of the same name from my deck to my hand, and so that gives me another White Stone of Legend. Furthermore, there is still the matter of White Stone's effect, as it is sent to my grave…" A deafening roar drowned out all other sounds. "Yes, the moment it was sent to the grave, it allowed me to add a certain monster to my hand, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"Fool! Blinded by naught but base power, you entrust your fate to a monster that can only accelerate your doom! Now, Dragonslayer's effect activates!" Dragonslayer pulled out a tiny dagger and stabbed into Seto Kaiba's deck with it, tearing out a Rare Metal Dragon. "With every dragon I slay, my power will only increase! Justice and vengeance together shall be mine! I end my turn, Seto Kaiba."

"You know, I was curious to find out when you'd finally be done talking; it really was quite tedious and dull. Part of me hoped for more, but then again, you are only a shadow, driven by powers you have no hope of comprehending. Now, I will summon my second White Stone of Legend, and then I will set two cards to end my turn."

"Stalling for time, gathering Dragons, these tactics will avail you not! I now summon a second Dragonslayer, and next I activate Emblem of the Dragon Slayer, adding myself from my deck to my hand. Now, attack!"

"Activate Permanent Trap card, Descent of the Weak; now, when I have a level-4 or lower monster added from my deck to my hand, I may special summon that monster to the field." The first Dragonslayer shattered White Stone of Legend with the flat of its sword, once more triggering the flurry of trap and monster effects, which concluded with another White Stone of Legend on the field, and Spear Dragon in Seto Kaiba's grave. The second Dragonslayer attacked in the same fashion, and while Seto had retrieved all three of the only Blue-Eyes White Dragons into his hand, his field was now empty, and Infernal Dragon now dwelled in his grave.

"Now Seto Kaiba, you shall witness how empty your power truly is! I play the Quick-Spell, Quick Summon, allowing me to perform a normal summon during battle, and so I sacrifice my Dragonslayers to summon myself from my hand!" Seto Kaiba found the summoning to be rather amusing to watch; rather then step forward, or just create a copy, Buster Blader split himself in two, and the second one grew considerably in height and power. "With the six dragons in your grave, I gain three thousand attack points, far more than enough to defeat you in a single blow!" The Buster Blader doppelganger leaped forward, and just as it was about to bring its sword down on Seto Kaiba's head, a huge wall of pure white fire blocked his path.

"All that power, completely and utterly wasted. With my trap card, From Hell, I pay two thousand life points and destroy all other cards I control to negate your direct attack, and then I choose one card from my deck to add to my hand."

"Hmph, I have no doubt what you intend to do; your goal shall be to summon the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, and then equip it with Megamorph so that it may surpass MY power! But I'm already prepared for that, the souls that demand your defeat have armed me appropriately! Now, I equip myself with Sword of Dragon's Soul, raising my attack power by seven hundred points, and then I set one card to end my turn." The Buster Blader doppelganger's blade became bigger, more jagged, more vicious.

"Hmph, Sixty-three hundred attack points? Why don't we increase that value some more, hmm? Now, I activate it, Fusion, and send all three Blue-Eyes White Dragons to the grave to summon the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

"And now you've sealed your doom, Seto Kaiba, for now I activate my trap card, Gauntlet of the Dragon Slayer; since you activated a card effect that sent Dragons into your grave, I can send an equal number of Dragons from your deck into your grave, without regard for level. Therefore, three more dragons are sent, and with one new one on the field, My attack power becomes nine thousand eight hundred, far, far greater than your meager dragon's!" The Buster Blader doppelganger grew in stature and force of presence, and if not for the fact of its Solid Vision nature, it could very well have crushed the tower beneath its feet. It towered over the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, dwarfing it. "You are helpless before my might, Seto Kaiba, helpless before those that demand your defeat, helpless before the one who deserves to make use of the reins of power that you do not deserve!"

"…Are you finished yet?"

"What!"

"All this empty and meaningless talk, all this posturing of yours…you are no duelist at all, merely a tool. You have a semblance of a soul, a seeming of simulacra, but it means nothing. Now, I activate De-Fusion, splitting my ultimate monster to bring out my true monster, the Blue-Eyes White Dragons." Twisting, roiling forces wracked the field as all three copies of Seto Kaiba's monster appeared. "You keep bragging about your power, but now you will see how empty and meaningless it truly is; I activate Delta Attacker." A transparent pyramid of power appeared around the original Buster Blader, and to each side a Blue-Eyes White Dragon flew. "When I control three normal monsters, those monsters may attack directly." The Blue-Eyes White Dragons wasted no time; within that pyramid, the white-hot fury of their breaths obliterated Buster Blader, taking with it the doppelganger it had spawned from itself. "A pity, that could have at least been a bit interesting."

"Everyone!" He then yelled out to the Duel Academia students as the Blue-Eyes White Dragons took to the sky. "Behold, the true power of the most powerful monster!" All three dragons combined their breath weapons, and aimed down at the Kaiba Corp tower, encompassing the whole of it in a blinding white light. The light faded, the Blue-Eyes White Dragons were gone. "Mokuba, confirm that there were no stragglers."

"Sure thing big bro!" He'd been mildly nervous, an instinctive reaction, but Mokuba knew full well the method of his brother's madness. He checked his console, and sure enough… "The Solid Vision system is back to normal, big brother, and there's no more trace of any of the energy that had corrupted the system.

"Very good." This was exactly as Seto Kaiba had expected, and as he looked down at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card in his hand, he could feel it for a moment, that cleansing power that obliterated all darkness and evil. Then he put it away, and walked up to the students. "I trust that you learned what you needed to. Now, return to Duel Academia, and bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion." They all nodded nervously, and they returned to the elevator one by one, the Obelisk Blue boy leaving last. Seto Kaiba then returned to Mokuba. "Well?"

"Sorry Big Bro, but it looks like whoever did this managed to escape without a trace."

"That's okay, I have the feeling that my students will be able to take care of them. Now, Mokuba, I want you to begin an outline for a new project, and put together the qualifications of those worthy of it." While Mokuba worked on that, Seto intended to take care of the issue of the family's of the fallen himself; he knew what it was to be callously abandoned and tossed aside, he would not repeat that mistake on anyone else, ever again.


	16. Chapter 16

Shining Defender, Junko Makita

"Seeing Seto Kaiba duel in person…there really is a difference from just watching the videos and reading the duel transcripts, isn't there?" Daichi Misawa looked to the others in their seats, their plane still an hour away from the Duel Academia island.

"An order of magnitude in difference, I would say." Momiji Todo said as he looked down at his own deck, almost in disdain. "It's easy to see why Seto Kaiba does not bother with dueling in the Professional League. I doubt even the Kaiser Ryoko, or Edo Phoenix, or anyone besides Yuugi Mutou, could ever serve as a challenge against him."

"It's more than just that." Jun Manjoume had taken Light and Darkness dragon out from his deck. "The power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon…I felt it as it passed over us, as it washed over the entire tower. It knew to spare us, knew to spare anything that Seto Kaiba designated as 'his'. That kind of power…it was like a God. I've only felt that power twice before."

"The Empty Fiend, wielded by Kaiser Ryoko after being possessed by her own Darkness, and Arcana Force Zero Through Twenty-One The Journey Completed, wielded by Takuma Saiou after being possessed by his own Light." Asuka Tenjouin said, her mood oddly blank, subdued. "Those monsters, they were their Kas, given material form in the form of the cards. Even though they were powerful, the moment that Ryoko and Takuma returned to normal, both the power and the cards were lost. There's a difference there, between the Blue-Eyes and them, that lets the former be stable while the latter can only exist under conditions of extreme duress."

"That will be yet another mystery for us to solve, I suppose, and for the generation that comes after us, and so on and so on, for as long as there is dueling." Daichi Misawa felt…oddly at peace, somehow. He supposed it was the concrete realization, the confrontation with a unifying piece of evidence, that showed him a sign of the true nature of the connection between the human soul and dueling, that excited his nature as an intellectual."

"There will be many risks and costs of course, but I know that we'll be able to pursue that research and power with the temperance of wisdom." Momiji Todo thought for a moment of Yuuto Inoue; there was no way to stop people like Yuuto Inoue, not while trying to stop the progress that drove them. This thinking relaxed him, made him feel like next time, he'd be able to emerge victorious, and show Yuuto the truth.

"In any event, we've managed to find out some interesting things…though how useful any of them will turn out is hard to say." Manjoume silenced the snide voice in his head before it had a chance to speak. What would his brothers, those myopic materialists, know anyway? Besides, in just few more days, they wouldn't even be his brothers anymore. Hell, maybe not even that long.

Asuka herself had nothing more to say, nothing more to share. Despite the passage of time, the feeling that lingered after the Blue-Eyes White Dragons attacked remained with her. For a moment, she thought that if she concentrated as she thought of the dragons, she would see a woman with blue-eyes and pale white skin, and hear a reassurance that her love would see her through. But it was too fleeting, too ephemeral, too…in the face of all that had happened, it was too much the sort of thing she'd want to believe, and so she dismissed it.

* * *

"Ah, welcome back Yuuto, Haruka." Amon Garam greeted them warmly. He'd anticipated that they would come to him in person, and had informed Echo accordingly. "I've heard the reports already about what happened at Kaiba Corp, but those were the official versions. I'd like to know your take on what happened, on what you did there under my direction." After all, Kaiba Corp could not admit to an attack, to a sabotage. A tragic accident

"Our take?" Yuuto said, his resolve firm after building it up for several hours. "I don't know how you did that, but you planned all that out. you somehow put in that program that took our research, and twisted it into a weapon to eliminate the competition and advance the bottom line of the Garam Group. My work…my research, is for the good of everyone; there are costs to it to be sure, but a unilateral application like this, is out of the question!"

"Hmm, interesting. And what about you Haruka? Do you also disapprove of what I've chosen to do with your work?" Amon Garam said, his benign smile changing not at all.

"I have to admit, I was skeptical, I was worried about the how and the why of what we were doing…but somehow the idea that we were going to be the instruments of murder, I'd never thought that you could be capable of such a thing! It is one thing to advance yourself and draw upon your own strength, but its another thing to tear someone else down in the process!"

"So neither of you approved? That's a shame, but it's still an acceptable outcome of this endeavor, as is Seto Kaiba's survival. The important thing was to learn the limits of your theories, and what I've learned from you two is most valuable indeed. You've both made a lot of progress towards fulfilling your dreams, so you should be proud of that. Kouyou Hibiki will certainly notice that when he sees fit to return."

"Maybe, but what if we were to go to the authorities, and tell them what you've done?" Haruka felt the tension in her neck rise as Amon looked her coolly in the eye.

"Which authorities? There's no point in telling the others of Duel Academia, they all already regard me as the purest evil there is. Sure, they could try to operate without my funding, but at this point, Seto Kaiba will have to make such extensive use of his own finances to both repair the damage and compensate the families of the fallen, that he will certainly be unable to pull through and rescue them from me. And it certainly wouldn't help you to go to the police, the Garam Group has the kind of pull in the government that can scarcely be imagined. Least of all, by either of you two."

"You might say that, but…" Yuuto couldn't believe it! Of all the times to get a headache, of all the times to lose focus, and it just kept getting worse!

"I do. Which is why, for the sake of ease and convenience, I've requested of Echo that she escort you to your respective rooms, and that you take a breather, a respite from your busy day. I think you'll find everything will be much clearer then." At that moment Echo arrived and put her hands down on Yuuto's and Haruka's shoulders. They found it impossible to resist the direction of her escort, and once they were gone, Amon Garam briefly reviewed their files. "Yes, it is indeed remarkable, the reach of the Garam Group."

* * *

"Excuse me, Miss Makita?" Junko turned around to face the speaker, a rather meek looking first year Osiris Red. Then she noticed that he had a whole line of Osiris Reds behind him. "We were hoping that you would join with us, and become part of Amon's Army."

"Oh, for the love of…" Here she was, just trying to get to class…hopefully Professor Mizuchi wouldn't give her too much grief about it afterwards. "Why would you listen to Takara Yoshida? You know perfectly well what her precious Amon Garam, you know he's the one behind what happened to Professor Hibiki!"

"I…that is true, Miss Makita, but that's just it; he managed to arrange for Professor Hibiki's defeat, and Takara Yoshida, and Hachirou Sasaki, they were both so convincing. Besides, I don't think Amon Garam is that bad; sure, he's aloof and distant, but when I don't think he'd go through all of this, just to hurt us all, right?"

"…What's your name?" Junko Makita didn't have time to waste, and she already had her Duel Disc armed and ready.

"Me? I'm Arata Shimizu, and I hope that I'll be a worthy soldier in Amon's Army; that's, that's my dream now."

"All right, I'm going to make this simple; I'm going to defeat you, and then you and the rest of your friends are going to go back to your rooms, while I go and deal with Takara, you got it?"

"Umm, I guess?"

"Honestly, I don't think anyone in our year was this meek…" Junko said as she muttered to herself. "All right, I'll take the first turn, and summon Bountiful Artemis in defense position, and then I'll set five cards to end my turn." She knew this kid would have to be really good to get past this gauntlet, and somehow she doubted he would be.

"Okay, umm, I guess I'll start with Heavy Storm, and destroy all of your spells and traps."

"Hmph, not even close! Counter-Trap, Dark Bribe!" In accordance with Artemis's effect, Junko was able to draw a card, and Arata drew a card with Dark Bribe's effect, but most importantly, Junko's traps were untouched.

"Okay, then how about Lightning Vortex?"

"Do you even believe your own words? Counter-Trap, Destruction Jammer!" Discarding her newly drawn card, Junko turned the Lightning against itself, and drew a new card in its stead.

"All right, how about I activate my monster's effect, and special summon Vice Dragon to the field?"

"Ughh, Counter-Trap, Black Horn of Heaven." A deafening, yet hollowed sound, obliterated the dragon before it could even set foot on the ground.

"Then, I'll play Devil's Sanctuary…?"

"Counter-Trap, Magic Jammer." Honestly, Junko could not have been more bored; this poor kid was way, way, WAY out of his league! Throwing someone like him into a self-proclaimed army was suicide, plain and simple. What the hell were Takara and Amon even thinking? Wait, hadn't Arata mentioned something about that Hachirou guy?

"Okay, I don't think you're prepared for this; I'm going to summon Granadora, and then I'll play Degeneration Wing, so you won't be able to activate your trap card so long as I've got Granadora on the field."

"That would be true…If I even let you get that far; I activate the Counter-Trap, Solemn Judgment, paying half my life-points to negate your spell card, and since I've activated a Counter Trap, I can sacrifice my Artemis to special summon Voltanis the Adjudicator, and destroy your remaining monster." With that, not only did Arata lose his last remaining cards, but he also took 2000 damage in accordance with Granadora's effect, which in accordance with its earlier effect of increasing his life points by 1000 upon being summoned, meant he was now at 3000 life points. "Now I'll go ahead and summon Shining Angel, and attack you directly with both monsters!" With that, the duel was already over, before it had hardly begun. "You see? You guys aren't an army, not by a long shot. Stay focused in class, stay loyal to Duel Academia, and then maybe you'll have a chance!"

They became scattered, and Junko paid them no mind; if Hachirou was also part of this, then she had to go and make sure Momoe knew about it before doing anything else.

* * *

"Finish her off, Legendary Devil!" Momoe called out her monster's attack after powering it up well past anything her opponent could handle, and it tore apart the second year Ra Yellow's Beast Machine King Barbaros Ur with no difficulty at all. "All right, Sakura Fujita, it's time for you to meet your end of the bargain."

"Fine, you've defeated me for now, but trust me, you'll see it; Amon's Army is too strong, not even you and your friends can hope to break it." Her eyes kept darting around, as though she expected judgment to hammer down upon her at any moment. "Takara Yoshida and Hachirou Sasaki, you'll see, their united strength will exceed anything you can imagine."

"I don't know, I can imagine a lot of a lot. Now get up, so we can get this over with." Momoe had been looking forward to meeting up with Misawa, Manjoume, Momiji, and Asuka when they returned from Kaiba Corp, and now she was stuck having to deal with this mess. And what the hell was Hachirou thinking, he was supposed to be getting help! As she followed Sakura Fujita to where Takara and Hachirou had holed themselves up, she took out her DA PDA and was about to send a quick message over to Junko and the others, when she saw Junko running up to her.

"I'm guessing you're all caught up on what's going on?" Junko said with a chuckle.

"As much as you are, I'd guess." Momoe said with a nod, "So what do you say we go and put an end to all the Amon's Army bullshit right here and now?"

"When we get there, we will!" The two clasped hands, and followed behind Sakura Fujita as she led them to their destination.


	17. Chapter 17

Gloom Dividing, Momoe Hamaguchi!

"You guys, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I think I can go to the nurses' office on my own." Judai could see it in the stiffness of their shoulders, his escorts were unmoved by his words.

"Sorry Judai." Rei Saotome said, her tone facetious in its seriousness. "But right now you're still in no condition for a serious duel, are you?" Judai nodded without shame. "Well, considering what everyone said when they came running back to Osiris Red, it doesn't look like today's going to be a safe day for a duelist who can't fight back." She turned her head for a moment to look at her fellow escort, Edo Phoenix; she had to admit that she'd been surprised when Shou'd declined, but what he'd said had made sense.

"The best thing that I can do for bro right now, is to show him that he still has a reliable brother left, and that means redoubling and refocusing my studies and honing my dueling abilities to their finest. That way, when he really does need me, I'll be ready to help him."

Rei agreed that it made sense, but in looking over at Edo, she could see that her own fears and concerns were but a pale shadow next to his; some escorts, huh? Hell, truth be told, she still wasn't sure what she was really doing here…

"Rei, you need to relax." Rei was stunned by Edo's sudden words, spoken with conviction.

"Heh, I guess I was like an open book, huh?"

Edo shook his head. "Actually, the truth is that the two of us are in the same place, more or less; each of us, we're still trying to recover the wounds to our pride, and trying to find a dream that we can believe in beyond just reacting to the events of the day."

"You think so?" Rei tried to imagine that this was so, but, but surely the sheer scale of difference between the trials that they each faced…

"I'm certain of it Rei; after all, we managed to be in the same place last year, so why would this year prove any different?"

"Last year…" Last year they came to Duel Academia like Golden Children, each in their own way exceeding the limits imposed on them…and each of them became subject to terrible betrayal from a trusted family member…and that was where Judai was now. That same betrayal…

"Well, thank you guys." Rei was shocked to find that they'd already managed to reach the nurses' office; it didn't seem like nearly enough time had passed for that, and yet, there they were. "I promise you guys, I won't be a burden on you much longer, I just, I need a little more time, okay?"

"Don't worry Judai; neither Rei nor I are in any position to demand that you hurry up. You need to make it through this at your own pace, no one else's." Edo spoke in a tone that belied the doubt that could be seen in his eyes.

"Yeah, that's right Judai!" Rei said, trying to muster up her enthusiasm "Besides, Asuka and the others should be back any time now, so we'll be able to kick Amon's scrawny little butt before long, I just know it!" Yeah, Rei realized it would have sounded at least halfway plausible if she hadn't hammed it up quite so much.

Judai nodded silently, and passed through the doorway, which automatically closed behind him.

"Well, what do we do now?" Edo looked down to Rei, though he found that he wasn't looking quite so far down as before.

"I don't know. That's what we've got to figure out, isn't it?" Rei looked up to Edo, and thought for a moment that his shoulders seemed a bit broader than they used to be.

* * *

"Heh, I should have figured this was where you'd be." Momoe dismissed Sakura Fujita with a bored gesture, which she quickly acted upon. Hachirou Sasaki stood up with a beaming smile from his seat, his paperwork abandoned. "Still, I would have thought Amon Garam's private cabin would have been a bit bigger. I guess he had to cut corners somewhere, right?" She looked it over one more time; from the outside, it looked like there was only space for three rooms or so, hardly the extravagance that an egomaniac like Amon Garam would have gone for, Momoe thought.

"Well, that's just the thing Momoe, Amon Garam is a highly practical man, and while his wealth and power is considerable, as well as his wisdom and foresight, he is not any sort of spendthrift, nor does he indulge himself in luxuries that the common man can't afford, and that's a very big part of why I've joined together with Takara Yoshida here," his head briefly turned to Takara, who was laying back in her seat, before turning back to Momoe, "because I sincerely do believe that by increasing the strength of Amon's Army, I really can show to you how much you inspire me, and hopefully you will join with me and then I will be able to fulfill my full and true potential, because that way…"

"Yeesh, Momoe, you weren't kidding on the whole obsession thing, were you?" Junko said in an aside to Momoe.

"Yeah, but at least there isn't anything sexual to it. I don't think that my skin would stop crawling otherwise." Momoe noticed that Hachirou was still talking, inattentive to their own inattention.

"That's enough Hachirou." Takara Yoshida arose from her seat and leaned forward in an act that Junko imagined was meant to come across as authoritative. "Listen up Junko, and Momoe; I know now for certain that there's a connection between us all, some binding force of karma or kismet or fate or whatever you want to call it. The important thing is that when we duel each other, a power is released in the process, and that is a power that I will see made to serve Amon's Army, one way or another. So, I propose a Tag Duel to determine the final fate and shape of Amon's Army. So, how about it? I presume that we all have the confidence to stand for our convictions, to draw on our power and fight for the dreams in our hearts, yes?"

"With Momoe here, of course I do Takara, just give me a moment and I'll be fully prepared!" Hachirou Sasaki said as he frantically armed his duel disc.

"Well, this is the most efficient way to end this, I suppose." Junko Makita said as she armed her duel disc in turn. "Remember, when we win, all of this nonsense gets shut down, and you have to tell us everything you know about Amon Garam's plans. Everything."

"You took the words right out of my mouth, didn't you?" Momoe Hamaguchi said with a faux-sardonic chuckle, arming her duel disc all the while. Then she focused her attention onto Hachirou. "Remember, when this is over, I'm getting you away from these people, you deserve that much."

Hachirou was about to respond, but Takara put her hand out, silencing him. "All right, let's get the final formality out of the way; the turn order shall be Junko, then Hachirou, then Momoe, and then myself. With that out of the way, go right ahead Junko, show me how you plan on stopping me, on stopping the future."

"All right then, Takara." Junko paused to focus her will as she drew her card, drawing upon the strength of her soul to unite with her cards. "I'll start by discarding Hecatrice to add Valhalla to my hand, and then I play it, allowing me to special summon Tethys from my hand, and I'll follow that up by summoning Meltiel in defense position, and then I'll set one card to end my turn." An angel clad in white, her wings detached by a small margin, and a synthetic angel with its body surrounded by a giant halo, these were the monsters that Junko Makita had brought to bear.

"Meh, that was okay I suppose." Hachirou said, looking upon Junko's monsters with a bored expression on his face. "But I'm certain that Momoe shall demonstrate her strength and skill to be far superior, and this time I will be up to the task of facing that true power and prove myself equal to it, and so I'll summon Twisted Follower in attack position!" An androgynous man in a black suit, with black hair, appeared. He looked around for a moment, his eyes glowing when they settled on Hachirou, and turning pitch black whenever they came upon anyone or anything else. "And now I activate my Field Spell card, Chorus of Madness."

At first, there was just one shrill voice, just below the threshold of consciousness, echoing across the battlefield. That voice was joined by a second, and a third, and a fourth, sound skittering across eardrums like cockroaches. Voices innumerable, uncountable, all just ever so slightly off-key, just enough to madden, yet not enough to react to. And through it all, Hachirou Sasaki's face was thoroughly blasé. "Now, during the end phase of every turn, a Black Blood counter will be added to every monster on the field, and Twisted Follower gains three hundred attack points for every Black Blood counter on the field, so now I'll go ahead and set a card to end my turn."

Suddenly, the chorus reached a fevered pitch; it only lasted for one moment, one moment in which all sense of perspective vanished from the world, but in that one moment, all three monsters on the field began to bleed Black Blood from their ears. Thus, Twisted Follower achieved an attack power of 900.

"Shit." Momoe muttered as she steadfastly ignored the chanting, having endured far worse before. "This kind of format really favors Hachirou, that must be why he's being paired off with Takara." She saw the begging, expectant look in Hachirou's eyes, and ignored it. "I'll summon Sangan in defense position, and then I'll set one card to end my turn." The keen wailing of the chorus achieved a momentary echo that caused Black Blood to spurt out of the fingers of the monsters, and this addition excited Twisted Follower further, increasing its power to 2100 points.

"Very good Hachirou. I can certainly see the wisdom of this partnership." She then narrowed her eyes as she looked into Junko's. "Let us see if your partner is as useful to you, hmm? I summon Number Ten to the field." Like all the rest of her monsters, Takara's was blond woman with silver eyes, wielding a great sword in one hand, and there was definitely something odd about the way she balanced the sword in her hand, though it was hard to say just what it was. "And now I set two cards, and end my turn."

The Choir cried out, as though it was itself being driven mad by its own unstoppable keening. Black Blood spurted forth from the eyes of the monsters, and the scent of it all increased Twisted Follower's power to new heights, an attack power of 3600.

"All right, keep calm, that monster's just a paper tiger." Junko assured herself, and felt a warm light coming off of Tethys, breaking through all the Black Blood. "I now activate Tethys's effect, revealing the Angel monster I just drew," Airknight Parshath, "and draw one more card." It was a card that Junko wished had come one turn earlier, but there was no sense wasting time whining about that; thanks to all the Black Blood counters on the field, she would be forced to skip her main phase and attack with all her monsters. "And now I'll have Tethys attack Number 10!" The angel flew high above Number 10, who responded by throwing its sword up at it. Tethys deflected the sword with her wings, and burned Number 10 into ashes with her holy light for 600 points of damage.

"That was pretty decent Junko, but you're going to have to draw out more of your power if you want to survive in Amon's Army!" Suddenly, a new sword, a new claymore, fell from the sky. "I now activate my trap card, Casualty of Mercy, and discard one Number monster from my hand, to special summon another. Behold, Number One!" Neither Junko nor Momoe could see the moment when the new warrior maiden arrived. All they could see was her faint smile as she passed in between them, before returning to Takara.

"And I have my own trap to activate," Hachirou said in a deferential tone to Takara, "one that will make sure that Momoe does her absolute best, Boring Drilling." There was a glint of light, and suddenly a depraved figure appeared on top of Meltiel, driving a vial of Black Blood into the synthetic angel. "I take the Black Blood counters from Number Ten, and put them into one monster of my choice, and now that the number of Black Blood counters on your Meltiel is equal to its level, the second effect of Chorus of Madness comes into play, allowing me to switch your monster into attack position and have it attack a monster of my choice, so it will attack Sangan!"

The angel's eyes, now turned pure black, focused themselves upon the Sangan's three eyes, and it's body attacked of its own volition in a crazed and frantic assault.

"Heh, I knew you saw this coming Hachirou, but I'll take it anyway, and use Sangan's effect to add Goblin King from my deck to my hand, and then I activate my trap card, Vendetta of Brotherhood!" Sangan clawed its way back up out of the grave, and Goblin King, freshly special summoned from Momoe's hand, helped it up.

"All right Momoe, I hope you've got this all planned out…" Junko said in a mutter, deciding to take the risk of increasing the number of monsters on the field. "I summon Nova Summoner to the field in defense position, and then I set one card to end my turn." The Chorus of Madness echoed on and on, drawing out rivers of Black Blood from every monster. In this fashion, Twisted Follower's attack power increased from 3000 to 5100.

"Thank you very much indeed Momoe, for believing in me, and helping me to achieve my utmost power, for now I summon Twisted Opponent and activate its effect, discarding a Madness monster from my hand, Madness Queen, and set its attack power equal to Tethys, which means that I can win with Song of Depravity, a permanent spell card that inflicts five hundred points of damage for every Black Blood counter on an opponent's monster that is destroyed by battle." The song of the chorus took on a much sharper edge, and the undefined boundary of Twisted Opponent swiftly patterned itself after Tethys. "Thus I shall begin my attack, with Twisted Follower targeting Meltiel!"

Momoe and Junko both arrived at the same conclusion at the same time; with Song of Depravity on the field, if both of Hachirou's monsters were able to attack successfully, then he would be able to defeat them that turn. Junko's grin told the rest of the story. "I activate my Counter-Trap, Negate Attack, and with Meltiel's effect, Momoe and I gain an additional one thousand life points!"

"That might have held true, Junko, if I'd not been better prepared!" Takara said with audible glee. "I activate my counter-trap card, Speed of the Slayer!" Number One advanced in the blink of an eye. "When I control a Number monster, this card lets me negate and destroy a spell or trap card my opponent controls, and then I can destroy an opponent's monster for one thousand points of damage."

In that moment, it seemed as though the warrior with the faint smile would triumph. But in that moment when she struck, a holy presence stopped her. "Sorry, but thanks to Tethys, I drew just the card I needed, Solemn Judgment!" Number One was driven back by that holy light, and between all the traps and Meltiel's prayers, the battle phase was brought to an end and Junko and Momoe's life points were brought to 6000.

"…Why did you interfere?" The tone, the manner, the demeanor, the pose, everything about Hachirou Sasaki changed as he looked down upon Junko. "Why did you obstruct me from expressing my true power to Momoe Hamaguchi? You did everything perfectly right up until that moment, and then you screwed it up. Do not interfere again."

"…Hachirou?" Such a bizarre change in disposition, Momoe was certain that there had to be some sort of power behind it, but no matter how intent her gaze became, all she could see was Hachirou himself, and nothing else.

"Oh, I'm sorry to have worried you Momoe, but I just became so frustrated for a moment, but there's nothing to worry about, because I know that I'll be getting another chance soon, so I'll wrap up my turn by sacrificing Twisted Opponent in order to keep Song of Depravity on the field." Indeed, just as suddenly as the first shift had taken place, Hachirou had shifted back to his usual temperament. Twisted Opponent faded away in one final shriek, and the Chorus of Madness cried out with it, drawing yet more Black Blood from every monster on the field. Thus, Twisted Follower's attack power increased yet again, from 5100 to 7200. "Now please, show me the power that I know you have, the power that I can believe in, the power that can inspire to me to know who I am and what I can do!"

Momoe was silent as she watched her two demons driven to attack by the Black Blood that flowed within them; fortunately, she was able to choose the target of the attack, and thus it was Number One which slaughtered them, dropping hers and Junko's life points down to 2000, while Twisted Follower's attack power decreased to 6000 with the loss of four Black Blood counters. "And now with Sangan's effect, I'll add Dark Jeroid to my hand, and now I'll summon it in defense position." With its noxious breath, Dark Jeroid was able to reduce Number One's attack power to 2200. "And now I play my spell card, Groundswell of Darkness!" A pool of darkness, even deeper than the Black Blood itself, appeared beneath Twisted Follower. "By removing two Demons in my grave, I can remove from play one monster on my opponent's side of the field, and if that monster is a demon, the opponent takes damage equal to that monster's attack power!" Great claws of pure darkness, like black holes given vicious purpose, dragged down Twisted Follower into the abyss, and in so doing very nearly dragged Hachirou and Takara with it. One final burst of darkness, and 6000 points of damage had been dealt in a single blow. "And now I'll set one card to end my turn."

"Oh, relax already Hachirou." Takara said, a gentle smile on her face, putting a stop to the despondent look that had just begun to form on Hachirou's "We're still going to win this duel, and there's no way I could have done it without you, so you've proven your point quite adequately, as far as I'm concerned."

"Well, so long as Momoe agrees with you, that'll be okay…" He just stared down at the spot where Twisted Follower once stood, denied its chance to ever truly demonstrate its power.

Takara then turned her attention to Momoe. "Well Junko, I hope you're ready for it, the moment you're power is unleashed in the name of Amon's Army! I play the Quick-Spell card, Leap of the Leg!" Number One's legs began to twist, grow, mutate. They now resembled the legs of some sort of monstrous horse. "Now with this, Number One can attack directly." Number One leaped an impossible distance up into the sky, and began its descent like a meteor.

"Shit, sorry Junko." Momoe's face down card, Demon's Vengeance, would only activate when a monster was targeted by an attack. Against this assault…

"It's okay Momoe, we'll pull through some how…" Number One's attack was over the moment it began, her faint smile the only thing Junko and Momoe saw as their life points dropped to zero, and only in that final moment did the Chorus of Madness cease.

"All right Junko, Momoe, you've lost, so by the conditions that we'd set down at the beginning, you're going to be brand new members of Amon's Army. Just give me a moment as I make it official and…Amon?"

Junko, Momoe, Takara, and Hachirou all watched as Amon Garam emerged from his cabin, and curiously Echo was nowhere to be seen. He walked in between the duelists, a benign smile on his face.

"It occurs to me, that there's a far better outcome than this, than turning Junko and Momoe into mere foot soldiers. Yes, I am absolutely certain on this point, Junko and Momoe will not be joining Amon's Army, nor will they have any further cause to interact with any of its members, including its leaders."

"Amon…I…" Takara was gaping, struggling, "I thought that you wanted me to establish a Dueling Army the likes of which the world had never seen before, and after all that you've done for me, I've always been more than willing to do anything I could to help you, so why would you do this…why would you turn them away, the two most powerful duelists we've been able to recruit thus far?"

"More then that, Amon Garam." Hachirou Sasaki once more spoke in curt, cut tone. "Momoe has defeated me, and I've defeated her. We have proven equal to each other. I can not stand for any course of action that will drive us apart. For the first time I see who I am. I will not lose that now."

Junko and Momoe both watched closely, trying their best to discern the power play that was going on.

Amon Garam spoke casually, as though discussing the weather. "Your passion for your dreams is to be commended, but for reasons of my own, I'm going to have to insist that rather than recruit Junko and Momoe, that they and their friends be forbidden from in any way interfering in the establishment of Amon's Army. There, you see? With the most powerful of enemies sealed away, it will become trivial for Amon's Army to grow to whatever height is necessary. As for you Hachirou, your synchronization rating has indeed become equal to Momoe's, which means that she can do nothing more to help you grow and achieve self-realization. So my recommendation is to just move on, the both of you."

"No, Amon, you can't…" Takara started rubbing the temples of her head, tried to focus and argue her point. "How can Amon's Army…grow to it's…."

"What the hell…?" Junko saw it, there was no ambiguity about it, the timing was too convenient.

"With all due respect…Amon…" Hachriou gripped the bridge of his nose, pinching it in an attempt to make the pain go away, "Even if I don't need…that doesn't…"

"How is he…?" Momoe turned her attention away from Hachirou for a moment, tried to discern the power behind Amon's words, but all she could find were the words themselves, nothing more.

"Perhaps, if time permits, this discussion can be resumed at a later date, but it is plain and clear that the two of you need to rest. After all, in addition to this, there is still the matter of all your school work; it would, after all, be grossly irresponsible for me to let the student's I've sponsored fall behind academically, would it not?" The two of them, reluctantly but without putting up a fight, made their way into Amon Garam's cabin. Then Amon turned towards Junko and Momoe.

"As for you two, that was indeed splendid dueling on your part." He focused his attention onto Junko. "Those traps and combos of yours, they really did speak to the power that you possess, and had you won, I know that Takara would have recognized the truth of the matter." Then he turned to Momoe. "And you, it really is remarkable, how you've been able to avoid temptation and avoid taking advantage of Hachirou's obvious fixation upon you." Then he turned away from them. "But now the time has come for me to rescind my invitation, and ask that you depart from my small parcel of land. Until we meet again." He walked back into the cabin, and the door closed behind him, a myriad assemblage of locks already electronically setting into place.

"Shit!" Junko said as she punched a nearby tree. "How are we going to be able to face everyone, after screwing up that badly?"

"No." Momoe looked to the locked door for a moment, and then started heading back to Duel Academia itself. "I don't care whether he realized it or not, whether he planned it or not, but Amon Garam let something slip, something big, and we're going to use it to turn this all around. Come on Junko!"


	18. Chapter 18

Rei Saotome's Driven Determination!

"Mr. Manjoume, if I might have a word with you for a moment?" It had been two days since Manjoume and the others had returned from Kaiba Corp, two days since Takara and Hachirou had resumed their efforts to establish their 'Amon's Army following their defeat of Junko Makita and Momoe Hamaguchi; to the credit of the rest of the student body, they gave as good as they got, but that was not the subject at hand.

Manjoume motioned to the others to go ahead without him, and they did. "Yes, Professor Chronos?" He already had a notion of what Chronos had to say, but he had to wait for the moment of truth.

"I'm afraid that the favors that Chousaku and Shouji called in have now taken effect; you are no longer Jun Manjoume." Professor Chronos found it difficult to believe that Jun's brother's could be so…what sort of people would actually go to the lengths of taking away someone's name and all that came with it?

"Ah, good, now it's over and done with. When the school year is over, I'll simply apply for a new family name; no doubt it'll be fairly tedious, but by the time this year's over with, it'll be a welcome reprieve by comparison." The tension in Manjoume's brow betrayed him, and he saw that Chronos had picked up on this. "Don't worry, I'll be getting over those two worthless, useless, utterly meaningless jerks in next to no time; hell, depending on whatever insipid scheme Amon Garam comes up with next, maybe even sooner!"

"…Jun, I suggest that you speak with our dear Judai; I believe that the two of you might be able to help each other, better than I could help you at this time." Professor Chronos paused for a moment to compose his words. "After all, it is in neither name nor blood that the bond of family is found, is it not?"

"Heh, sometimes you can say some really profound things, Professor Chronos. Unfortunately, Shouji, Chousaku, and I, we were brothers in name only. Trust me, if you were to spend five minutes with them…hell, probably not even that long, you'd see what I mean."

"Still," Jun said, the tension in his shoulders subdued, "I do appreciate it, make no mistake of that, Professor Chronos." And so Jun left to rejoin the others; it took a few minutes, and in that time he deliberately kept his mind silent and still, not wanting to dwell on whatever other difficulties that Shouji and Chousaku had in mind for him. When he did catch up to the others, he saw that they'd met up with Edo and Rei.

"Oi, Judai; you're going to be visiting Professor Hibiki in the nurse's office again, right?" Manjoume stepped forward, and even put his hand on Judai's shoulder, to demonstrate how unaffected he was by the most recent change in his life. "Why don't I come with you, give you a bit of support?"

"Really?" Judai's smile was beginning to reach his eyes, but it still had a ways to go. "That's awfully nice of you…?" There was suddenly a rather loud and distinctive beeping sound coming from Manjoume.

"Hold on a second…" Manjoume took out his cell phone, wondering who could have this kind of inconvenient timing, and checked the caller ID. Immediately his eyes became wide with indignant shock. "Oh, like hell I'm talking to you!" He closed his cell phone, disconnecting the call, but before he could return it to his pocket, it started ringing again. Manjoume checked again, and sure enough it was the same worthless idiot who had no reason to be calling him in the first place! He closed the phone, and waited a moment…

"Manjoume, is something wrong?" For a moment Judai thought that Manjoume was about to explode, but he just calmed himself, breathed deep as his cell phone resumed it's distinctive ring tone.

"May as well just say it now while everyone's here; my 'brothers' have seen fit to formally, legally, take my name from me. Now Chousaku is calling me up, and I've no patience to deal with his egotistical gloating. But still, there are many things that we have to deal with while we're not prepared or ready for them, and this is one of them." Manjoume opened up the phone, pressed the button, and put the receiver to his ear. "Well, Chousaku? How does it feel to take advantage of your business and political connections to trivially annoy me?"

"…Jun." Chousaku sounded…plaintive? Jun waited for the other foot to drop, for Chousaku to give up this pointless little charade of his. "Jun, I know neither Shouji nor I deserve it, but we need your help."

"…You're serious, aren't you? What the hell could be going on over there that you would even think of asking me for help?" Truth be told, Jun had a notion, he had warned his brothers…

"The Garam group, they're buying us out; all the contracts between us, they were full of hidden loopholes in their favor, waiting for just this moment to brought out against us. Everything that Shouji and I've tried to do to keep the corporation that our parents raised us to protect, none of it's worked. There's only one option left to us, and…"

"Let me guess; if you can get a representative to win a duel, then you'll get to keep the company, right? Tell me, is Echo there? Do you still think the notion that she could kill if you rubbed her the wrong way is ridiculous?"

"I know exactly what I said Jun, but that's just the thing of it; she's not here alone; one of Amon's duelists, one of those students that he sponsored at your Duel Academia is here too, and she's the one who's been doing all the talking and exploiting of loopholes."

"Really? Hmm, do you have her name at the moment?" If it turned out that it was Emi Tanaka who was leading the charge in taking the Garam Group…

"Her name is Rin Ito. She's wearing a yellow uniform, isn't that the second-tier dorm, or however it works over at that insane school of yours? So you should be able to handle her no problem, right?"

"Well, I have to admit that this conversation has been rather interesting, but…" Jun let his words hang in the air for a moment, let Chousaku stew in his own juices for a change. "Don't worry, I would never stand by and let someone like Amon Garam expand his empire any further than he already has; inform Echo and Rin that we will be there at noon tomorrow, you got that?"

"All right Jun, if you can do this for us, your reward will be…!"

"Stuff it! I don't give a damn about anything you can offer me, you got that?" And with that Manjoume ended the call, and looked over to his friends, who obviously only heard half the story. "Long story short, Amon Garam's trying to take over the Manjoume group, and he's having Echo and Rin Ito do it for him." He then pointed to Judai. "You'll be coming with me; today will be the last day you spend moping over Professor Hibiki, you got that?"

"Hold on a second!" Rei Saotome said, forcing all attention upon her. "You said Rin Ito, right? I've got a score to settle with her, so it doesn't matter what you have to say, I'm going to come with you too, you got that?" She said the last bit with as much the same emphasis that Jun had used as she could manage.

"Hmph." Jun looked her in the eye for a moment. "All right, I don't mind, just make sure you'll be up early tomorrow, it's going to be a long flight and drive tomorrow."

* * *

"Sister, is everything all right?" Takuma found Mizuchi meditating in front of a mirror, something he had not seen her do in a long time. At the sound of his voice she turned her head, and showed him a wan smile.

"For a moment, I was trying to do it again, try and use my power once more. Ever since finding out from Asuka and the others the true nature of our powers, I've wondered whether I could reawaken mine, just long enough to restore Midori back to consciousness."

"…If ever there was a worthy cause for either of us to awaken our powers…" Takuma remembered it like he was there, the moment when Midori Hibiki abandoned her justified anger, her vendetta against Mizuchi, and saved her from being consumed by her own power over the Darkness, along with her apostles. "But even so, I do not believe such a thing is possible for us anymore; despite our powers, our souls are weak. We've well established that we can't resist the temptation of our powers, and that very weakness has created pain and suffering in our lives, the lives of those we've touched, and even those who we've never met before this day."

"So, Shinji Kato's words, they still dwell in your heart?" Mizuchi had discretely tried to meet up with Shinji, tried to convince the young Ra Yellow boy to drop his vendetta against them, but whatever gift for it that Mizuchi possessed, she did not.

"Who gives a damn what you have to say, what any of your drones have to say?" Shinji had said to her, his tone caustic and his manner taut. "You and your brother both, you're both cowards, hiding behind the shield of redemption so as to avoid the retribution that you deserve for your crimes. The day is almost upon you, when that shield will be taken from you, and there will be no one, least of all Edo Phoenix, to save you."

The memory of those words numbed Mizuchi's sense of the world; the sheer, overwhelming scope of those words, the weight that they bore for the countless many that Shinji spoke for, it filled her with doubt that anything she could ever do could possibly make any difference, and it was that doubt that stopped her, despite her overt proclamations that she would do otherwise.

"They do, as they do in yours, my sister." He did not need any sort of powers to see how brave, how noble, how sacrificing his sister was, even now. "We've tried, my sister, we've tried to redeem ourselves, but in the end our sins, our hubris, they were too great for us to overcome. Will you join me sister, in thanking Edo and everyone for all that they've done for us, before our time comes?"

"Perhaps in the end I shall, brother, but I do not want to give up this opportunity that has been brought to us at such great risk just yet." Even if it was only a selfish desire to repay a debt that she was sure the other party already regarded as paid in full, Mizuchi could not stand by and do nothing for Midori, the woman that she'd come to regard as the sister that she'd never had.

"Very well, sister. I hope that your efforts bear abundant fruit." Takuma turned and walked away. He left his sister alone, not ever mentioning how he'd tried to read the Tarot Cards once more, and saw nothing, not even the Darkness.

* * *

"Judai, you're sure that you're okay with this?" Asuka had spent the night before preparing herself, psyching herself; she knew that if she couldn't do this now, at this moment, then she had no right to do it at all. Even so, she'd expected at least some resistance from Judai…

"Of course I am; I mean, I was thinking about what you and the others said when you'd gotten back from Kaiba Corp, about what Daitokuji said to you…" Asuka could see it in his eyes, that Judai had come to the same realization that she had, and was still trying to figure out what it all meant. He'd been doing a lot of contemplating lately, more than he usually did, before… "And, well, I don't think I'm ready to be trusted with your soul just yet." He held out the Kuriboh card to her, and she could feel its eagerness to return to her. "But I do hope that one day, I can be." And when he said that, he said it with the first true, genuine, full smile she'd seen on his face ever since what happened to Professor Hibiki.

"I'm sure that you will, Judai." Asuka's own smile was wry; she wasn't sure if Judai was aware of how his words could be taken…no, he knew exactly what he was saying; he'd always been thoughtful and considerate, and now…if she was going to be with someone for the rest of her life, if she was formally going to add someone to her family, she would have no regrets if that someone was Judai.

She then turned to Manjoume and Rei. "Make sure you two bring him back in one piece, okay?"

"Of course we will Asuka!" Rei said, thumping her chest for emphasis. "Like you'd have to ask, right?" She then stifled a yawn.

"Besides which," Manjoume said, a confident smirk on his face, "Once the Manjoume Group is back in the hands of, for lack of a better word, it's rightful owners, there will be no safer place on Earth."

Asuka nodded, and stepped back to join the others who were seeing them off, and so Manjoume, Judai, and Rei boarded the plane, and off it went, over the horizon. Then she noticed Shou looking up at her, a beaming quality to his eyes.

"I hope…I hope that Professor Hibiki wakes up soon, so that you and Judai, that you two can give her the good news together!"

"Hmph, some good news would be a welcome change of pace around here indeed." Edo Phoenix said as he walked away to speak with Takuma and Mizuchi in private.

* * *

"Huh, so they did show up after all." Rei Saotome instantly recognized that calm, unmoving voice, and even though she was dressed in Ra Yellow instead of Osiris Red, Rin Ito still had that same cold expression on her face. Rei looked over to Echo for a moment; judging from the way she held herself, Echo seemed to just be overseeing things. Hopefully, that meant she wouldn't interfere too much. Then Rin turned to face two older men in suits, presumably Jun's older brothers. "Well, everything's in order; just a few minutes, and your company will belong to Amon Garam, and I'll be in Obelisk Blue." They were all there, in the main office of the Manjoume Group, a huge and ostentatious room that sought to dwarf those that had come to visit. But now, the original owners were themselves the victims of the room's effect.

"Do you really believe that it will really be that simple, that easy?" Manjoume said, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. "That kind of attitude doesn't work for Obelisk Blue; really, it doesn't work for Duel Academia at all, but if you were in Osiris Red, that could at least be excused a little, heh heh." Rin was about to respond, but Manjoume put his hand out. "I'll come back to you in a moment; I have a few words I'd like to share with Shouji and Chousaku." He then turned to face them. "After all, it's been years since we've seen each other in person, isn't it?"

Rei looked to Judai for a moment, and saw the disbelief in his eyes, the great difficulty in accepting that this animosity was real; she herself shared in that doubt, but for the moment, there was nothing for either of them to say.

"Chousaku," Shouji said beneath his breath, "why the hell did you bring them in? They are nothing but worthless infantile morons, wasting their days on an inane children's card game!" He didn't even bother to look at Jun, he made that much obvious.

"Shouji!" Chousaku said in a sudden burst of emotion. "What the hell does it matter what you or I think about that stupid game of theirs? Right now, that's the only leverage we have left to keep the Manjoume Group from being taken away from us! Or would you rather that everything that we've worked so hard for, that Mother and Father worked so hard for, be torn down without even token resistance?"

"Hmph." Jun narrowed his eyes, his manner dismissive of the conflict between the brothers. "Look at you two…If I'd come all this way to save you two, I'd just turn back right the hell now. Fortunately, neither your hides, nor the fate of the Manjoume group, concern me in the least." Then he walked on over to Judai. "Come on, let's take a step back, and watch the show."

As they walked away to take their seats, Echo's eyes followed. "Curious." That was all she said, at least out loud, at least with her words.

"So what, I've got to duel you again?" Rin Ito sighed with visible irritation. "Unless you're using this as your opportunity to advance into Ra Yellow, then I don't see any point to it." She turned her head to look at Manjoume. "Come on, get up, it's only appropriate that I defeat an Obelisk Blue to make my way into Obelisk Blue."

"Hold it!" Rei took a step to the side, forcing herself into the center of Rin's field of view. "You're going to duel me, or else you're going to surrender, you got that?"

Rin turned her attention to Echo. "Is there going to be any problem if I duel her instead of Jun?" Echo shook her head, and so Rin turned back to Rei; in that moment, for just one infinitesimal moment, Rei thought that she could see a smile on Echo's face, the kind of smile that came about when a plan came together. "All right Rei, you'll get your way, for the brief period of time it will take me to defeat you."

"Is that what you think?" Rei took a step forward as she armed her duel disc, forcing herself further into Rin's personal space. "Because when I'm through with you, you're going to be left behind in the dust, just like the dinosaurs themselves!"

"Hmph, so you still have no personal stake in this?" Rin stepped back, creating the necessary distance between them for the duel. "Well, no point in wasting anymore time, I will take the first turn!"

The two duelists drew their cards, an intangible wind seemed to kick up, and Rin did as she said she would. "First I'll play Jurassic World," and at once the spacious, modern-day office became subsumed by the muggy heat of the idealized prehistoric time period. "And now I will summon Miracle Jurassic Egg in defense position." A towering, thick shelled egg that dwarfed the duelist who'd summoned it, with 2300 defense points thanks to Jurassic World's effect. "And now I'll set two cards to end my turn."

"Miracle Jurassic Egg, huh? I wonder what you plan on hatching from it." As Rei drew her next card, she felt a surety of power, a confidence that she hadn't felt since her duel with her cousin the year before. "I play Fusion, sending Resonance Warrior, Resonance Guide, and Resonance Maiden to the grave to Fusion Summon Resonance Lady of Three-in-One!" The towering, six-armed lady of Fire, Wind, and Light manifested on the field, her aura a corona of power.

"That special summon of yours, is just what I was waiting for! I activate my trap card, Hunting Instinct, allowing me to special summon a dinosaur from my hand." A small, almost cartoonish baby triceratops appeared, the shell of its egg lying on its head like a hat. "And with that, I activate my other trap card, Demanding Circumstances, allowing me to destroy one monster on my side of the field to destroy one monster on my opponent's side with greater attack power. Thus, I will destroy Babycerasaurus to destroy Resonance Lady of Three-in-One!" A huge column of magma erupted beneath the baby triceratops, consuming it utterly. It arced through the air, and began its descent towards Rei's monster.

"Spell card activate, De-Fusion!" A flash of light, and the magma crashed down onto nothing but dirt, the three Resonance monsters safe from destruction.

"A decent trick, I suppose, but my strategy is far from complete." As Rin spoke, Rei noticed Miracle Jurassic Egg was starting to rumble. "Whenever a Dinosaur monster is sent to the grave, Miracle Jurassic Egg has two counters added to it. Furthermore, when Babycerasaurus is destroyed and sent to the grave by a card effect, I can special summon a level four or lower Dinosaur from my deck to the field, so come forth, Jurak Velo!" A creature like a Velociraptor, but with a very unusual scale coloration, appeared. In the domain of the Jurassic World, it had an attack power of 2000.

"Funny story," Rei said with a smirk on her face, "My strategy's just begun too!" The auras of the three Resonance monsters met and joined together, becoming a cavalcade of red, white, and green. "Pay close attention, because I'm only going to explain this once; with Resonance Maiden's Wind, Resonance Warrior gains three hundred attack points for every monster I control, and Resonance Guide's Light means that I can draw a card every time Resonance Warrior does battle damage. Next, Resonance Warrior's Fire gives Resonance Maiden the ability to restore five hundred life points every time I deal battle damage, and Resonance Guide's Light means that I recover five hundred life points every time I draw a card through a card effect. Finally, Resonance Warrior's Fire means that Resonance Guide does five hundred points of damage whenever I draw a card through a card effect, and Resonance Maiden's wind lets Resonance Guide send a random card from your hand to the grave whenever I draw a card."

"I know that's a lot to take in in a short period of time, so I'll just summarize by attacking Jurak Velo with Resonance Warrior!" Wind fueling her fire, Resonance Warrior's attack power leaped from 1700 to 2600, allowing her to dice the dinosaur into precisely measured chunks. The force of these attacks set Jurak Velo's remains on fire, a brilliant fire that exploded with light. With the furious storm of fire, wind, and light, Rei drew a card, recovered 1000 life points, did another 500 damage to Rin, and forced her to discard one of the cards in her hand.

"What an inept fool, blinded by transient damage." The Miracle Jurassic Egg pulsed as the presence within it grew and grew. "The card that you sent from my hand to the grave was Hyper Hammerhead, another dinosaur monster. Thus, with Jurak Velo's destruction, Miracle Jurassic Egg now has six counters upon it, and Jurak Velo has an effect as well; when destroyed by battle and sent to the grave, Jurak Velo lets me special summon another Jurak dinosaur with seventeen hundred attack points or less from my deck to the field. Come forth, Jurak Stauriko! It was a Staurikosaurus, though coming out of its back were three plumes of fire, like fins. It stood in defensive posture, easily cowed by Rei's remaining monsters.

"Another monster on the field huh? All right, I'm game!" Resonance Guide was next to attack, her light overwhelming it. Rei saw the tail splinter off from the ruined body, and it then split into two solid, fleshy chunks.

"When Jurak Stauriko is destroyed by battle, I can special summon two Jurak tokens in defense position." Cracks began to appear in the shell of the Miracle Jurassic Egg. "Furthermore, thanks to your eager help, Miracle Jurassic Egg has gained eight counters, exactly what I was aiming for. So much for your plan to show off to your friends and make it look like you know what you're doing, instead actually doing the smart thing and trying to destroy Miracle Jurassic Egg."

"What, and then be shocked by the fact that Miracle Jurassic Egg can't be attacked so long as there are any other dinosaurs on the field?" For the first time Rin Ito's expression wavered, her eyes open with shock. As Rei spoke, Resonance Guide attacked and destroyed one of the Jurak tokens. "And then I'm supposed to wonder what I'm going to do as you send Miracle Jurassic Egg to the grave to special summon a high level dinosaur from your deck, right?" Rei's eyes narrowed, her expression no longer light and flighty. "This time I made sure to research your cards and all the ways they could be combined; it took a while to look them all up and cross-reference them against each other, but it was worth it I'd say."

"That's impossible, my deck isn't on record." Rin said, slow steady breathing restoring her cool.

"It didn't have to be; none of your cards were unique, or even all that rare; I just had to look up every dinosaur monster that's ever been created, the cards that support them, and I wound up with a pretty good idea of your deck and all the rest of your strategies. So no matter what you summon on your turn, I'm prepared for it. Case in point, I'll summon Homunculus the Alchemic Being, switch it to Dark attribute, and set one card to end my turn." The aura of the Resonance monsters opened up, and welcomed the dark attribute Homunculus into its embrace.

"You're really determined to beat me, are you? A short-sighted goal like that will never overcome my ambition." Rin Ito drew her next card, her confidence restored. "Now I send Miracle Jurassic Egg to the grave and special summon from my deck the level seven Jurak Tyrannus!" Built like a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a green fringe extending from its tail to its head, wrapping around the neck along the way, it had 2800 attack points thanks to Jurassic World. "And now I activate Tyrannus's effect, sacrificing a dinosaur monster I control to increase its attack power by five hundred points." The monster bit down on the Jurak Token, swallowing it to fuel its internal fire. "And now I play Fuel of the Fallen, removing five dinosaurs in my grave from play to draw two cards."

Rei kept her voice still, but she knew that her eyes betrayed her; without monsters in the grave, her Annulling Darkness trap would be useless!

"You see? This is the price for blind arrogance that sees nothing past the present moment! Now I summon Black Ptera and sacrifice it to raise Jurak Tyrannus's attack power by another five hundred points, and when Black Ptera is sent from the field to grave outside of battle, it returns to my hand. Now, Jurak Tyrannus, obliterate the Homunculus." Biting down with white hot fangs, Tyrannus consumed Homunculus for 2000 points of damage. "Furthermore, every time Jurak Tyrannus destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the grave, it gains an additional three hundred attack points…what?" Jurak Tyrannus was becoming visibly ill, feeble.

"Yeah, I took quite the hit, but you got overconfident, Rin Ito." Rei winced a bit at the intensity of the damage she'd just taken, but it was already a fading sensation. "My dark attribute Homunculus contributed to the resonance field as well, but you only need to worry about one effect, and that's Resonance Guide's light effect; long story short, when you destroyed Homunculus, Tyrannus lost attack points equal to Homunculus's." As the last of the paradoxical energies wracked through Tyrannus's body, its attack power settled down at 2300.

Rin Ito's face was drawn into an expression of silent fury, her eyes drawn tight against her face, but her voice was as unmoved as ever. "I will set one card, and end my turn."

"No matter what trap you've set, you won't scare me! Resonance Warrior, attack!" Spinning blades in hand, Resonance Warrior rushed forward like a beam of light…

"Trap card activate, Cruelty of the Era!" Huge fonts of fire, great rocks crashing from above, absolute obliteration of all life. "By sending Jurassic World to the grave, I destroy every monster on the field!" Now, the field was empty, once more the office that they were truly dueling in. "With this, you are hopelessly stymied, all your progress lost and exposed for what it really was, an empty promise for nothing."

"Don't forget, you tore yourself down, just to get at me. I set one card to end my turn."

"That's because I can afford that kind of loss, because I know that it will take me straight to the top, something that you are too much of an immature child to understand. I set one card, and end my turn."

"All right, I'm going to ask you right here and now, because you keep making such a big deal about it; what kind of dream is reaching Obelisk Blue in a single year, huh? What are you going to do with that kind of accomplishment?"

"…What are you…talking about?" Rei could see it, even if it was only a moment, a distinct look of confusion on her face. Then she caught in the corner of her eye, Echo glaring at Rin for an instant. "Going from Osiris Red to Obelisk Blue in under a year, is proof enough of my strength, that my ambition is real! Nothing in this world can be accomplished without ever escalating ambition, ever escalating power, and so people like you, self-satisfied fools who are content with their lot in life and with nothing of their own to aim for. Trust me, if you'd ever really gotten to know Amon Garam, you'd know this to be the case. And in any event, my victory in this duel will be all the proof that I need, and so I activate my trap card, Fossil Excavation!" Once more, the Jurak Tyrannus roared to life, though the fire in its breath was hollow, unable to consume to increase its own potency.

"Damn, there really is something wrong here, isn't there?" Rei said this under her breath, letting Rin believe whatever she wanted to. "I summon Resonance Flora in defense position, and end my turn."

"My turn." Rin took a moment to look at her new card… "I attack with Jurak Tyrannus, and then I set one card to end my turn."

"My turn…I summon Resonance Warden in defense position, and end my turn."

"My turn, and I attack Resonance Warden, and then I'll set one card to end my turn."

Rei could sense that the moment of truth was upon her, the momentum of the duel was about to come to a close. "My turn!" Putting her all into the draw, putting everything that drove her into her deck, she drew her card. "And now I play Rebirth of the Elements, paying five hundred life points for every level four or lower Resonance Monster in my grave that I wish to special summon to the field, and those monsters will return to the grave during the end phase, but they'll be here long enough for me to activate my trap card, Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan, which I'll use to destroy all your spells and traps!" The incomparable fury of the elements clashed and joined together, and they advanced as a great tidal wave upon Rin Ito's back row, threatening to obliterate everything that she had, for with Fossil Excavation destroyed, Jurak Tyrannus would be as well…

"Trap card activate! Final Apocalypse!" Jurrak Tyrannus began to boil over with energy, its body expanding with its own inner fire growing out of control. "I destroy one dinosaur monster I control, and deal damage to the both of us, equal to its combined attack and defense values!"

Rei could scarcely believe what Rin had just done; sure, Final Apocalypse was one of the cards that she'd looked up, but it was such a self-destructive trap, she never even considered the possibility that Rin would ever use anything like it. As it was…the duel…

"What?" One of the Manjoume brothers, Rei thought it was Shouji, but she couldn't be sure of it.

"Is this even possible?" The other brother was incredulous, and Rei could hardly blame him, it was such a rare outcome.

"It is, Manjoume brothers." Echo stepped forward, her voice crisp and clear. She looked down at Rin Ito with a neutral expression. "This duel is null, your services are complete." She then directed her focus onto Jun. "I will handle the rest."


	19. Chapter 19

The Manjoume Brothers, Reconciliation

"Regarding the Amon's Army situation." Shinji Kato paused, held his hand out for a moment, and upon confirming its stillness, resumed composing his post for the official Duel Academia forum. "I know that many of you are tired of having to fend off unprovoked attacks, tired of seeing your friends turned against you, tired of…well, everything to do with Amon's Army. While I can do nothing to stop Takara Yoshida and Hachirou Sasaki from continuing in their ambitions, I can make arrangements to make sure that you never need to worry about them again. All you have to do is to sign the attached petition, and I will take care of the rest."

He went over the post one more time, was satisfied by what he saw, and posted it. It took less than a minute for the first hits to start coming in, and for a moment, he actually felt like relaxing. "Mom, Ai, Mei, Yun, it'll be over soon; soon, the monsters who did this to you will no longer be able to hide from their crimes. Soon, their sins shall be exposed to the whole world." He closed his eyes, and saw their smiling faces, filling his whole body with warmth.

* * *

"Echo, what are you talking about?" Rin Ito got up from her knees and stood before Echo. "If the result of the duel is null, than that means that I didn't lose, and if I didn't lose, that means I can still advance!"

Echo looked into Rin's eyes just so, and Rin Ito immediately gave way.

"Hold on a second!" Rei Saotome said, stopping Rin in her tracks. "I want to hear it from you, in your own words, why you used a trap card like that; why did you play a card that you knew could only be used to force a draw?"

"…What would you know? You're someone without a goal, with no ambition, so losing means nothing to you. You lose, and it's your 'friends' who pay the price, but you yourself are left untouched. I can't do that, be that childish and selfish."

"I see." Rei decided to leave it at that. This was what she'd come for, and she would have to be satisfied with this. After all, in the end, this was Jun's mission first and foremost, and she was thankful that he was willing to concede this much to her. Rei turned around to rejoin Judai and Jun.

"Rei, that was a great duel, you really did your best out there." Rei could see it in Judai's eyes, there was still that part of him that was badly hurt, so the fact that he was able to put as much of himself into supporting her like this…

"Indeed Rei, that was definitely a duel worthy of an Osiris Red." He stood up, and Rei took his newly vacated seat. "But now the time has come for the closing act on this little melodrama." He armed his duel disc, and stood before Echo. "Don't worry, I've no intention of underestimating you; anyone who can defeat Asuka at all, is a dangerous opponent indeed." He then looked over to Shouji and Chousaku, but said nothing, and they did the same in return.

"You have a measure of wisdom to you." Echo spoke with only the slightest sliver of a smile. "But that wisdom is only that of a child's, next to Amon's."

"I'm sure you believe that, just like you believe that 'synchronization rating' nonsense that Amon Garam tossed out. Me? I'll need a bit more convincing." A tense silence. "I'll take the first turn, and summon Golem Dragon in defense position. Now, let's see you overcome this wall."

"Very well. I summon Grace of Determination." A knight with white wings, black armor, and a mighty lance held in both hands, 1200 attack points altogether. "When I declare my attack, I can discard a card from my hand to skip the damage step, and automatically destroy my opponent's monster." Grace of Determination took to the sky and descended down upon Golem Dragon with twice the force, her lance boring through its scales effortlessly. "Now, you may take your turn."

Jun drew his card, and then glared at Echo's hand.

"It is difficult, isn't it?" Echo's expression was neutral, yet Jun could hear that subtle tremor of pride in her voice. "The moment you act, will become the moment of your defeat. That is the fear that holds you back."

"Fear? Caution against an unpredictable enemy can hardly be called such." Jun then pulled the desired card from his hand in a dramatic flourish. "I summon Wish Dragon to the field and activate its effect, sacrificing it to special summon two Wish Dragon tokens." Jun watched intently, but Echo did nothing to interfere with his monster's effect. Now, he just had to see this through… "And now I play the spell card Dragonic Tactics, sacrificing my two Wish Dragon tokens to special summon a Level Eight Dragon from my deck. Come forth, Dark-End Dragon!" The gloom of shadow spread across the field unimpeded, no burst of green light to interfere with it. With that, Jun's play became more vigorous. "Now I activate Dark-End Dragon's effect, reducing its attack power by five hundred to send your monster to the grave!" The mouth on Dark-End Dragon's stomach opened up, and the darkness it breathed out was an all consuming one, one that Grace of Determination could not escape no matter how it tried.

"And now with nothing to protect you, I will attack directly!" For a moment, Jun felt pride in having broken through the fear, doubt, uncertainty of facing an opponent whose traps and counters could not be seen…and that was when he saw the pure white light acting as a stone in the ocean of darkness, breaking the wave, dividing it, parting it away from Echo.

"When I am targeted by a direct attack, I can discard Herald of White Light, along with one other angel card in my hand, to negate that attack, and then draw two cards. Know that you never stood a chance of even touching me, child."

"So you say, but even the greatest duelists in the world can't make that guarantee. I set two cards, and end my turn."

"You say that, and in so doing expose your ignorance. You truly have no concept of it, do you? Amon Garam realized it, and thus he trusts me above all others."

"I can't help but wonder if he truly feels the same way. I mean, he certainly sees no problem with using those students he sponsored, right?" Jun said, his eyes darting to Rin Ito for a moment. She showed no sign of response.

Neither did Echo. "I will now summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, and add Ritual of Grace to my hand. Then I will play the following Permanent Spell cards, Promise of Light and Wise Purpose." Vortices of light whirled about Echo in a steady, ordered pattern. "Promise of Light, so long as I control a Light attribute monster, you can't activate spell cards. Wise Promise, every time a Light attribute monster I control destroys one of your monsters in battle, my monster will gain one hundred attack points per level of the destroyed monster. Now, with the foundation in place, I activate Ritual of Grace, using Manju on the field and Ritual Devil Presider in my grave as the sacrifices for the Ritual Summon of Divine Grace Northwemko."

A pillar of energy slowly descended upon Manju, boring down into the grave where Presider dwelled. There was a bizarrely gentle quality to the energy as it broke down the monsters that were to be sacrificed, as though like the tender touch of…the energy was gone, and in its place stood a woman; she wore a dark, elaborate dress, detached sleeves, and in hand she held a staff, the head of which was a dark, stylized sun. "In addition to twenty-seven hundred attack points, for every monster I sacrifice for the Ritual Summon, I choose a card on the field." Northwemko held her staff high above her head, and from it came two beams of light, one for each of her Permanent Spell cards. "So long as these two cards are on the field, my monster can't be destroyed by card effects. Furthermore, by removing Ritual of Grace in my grave from play, Northwemko can't be targeted by card effects. Thus, I attack without reservation."

Northwemko held her staff out before her, and encased Dark-End Dragon in a sphere of light. The sphere shrank down, and when it became as a pinprick, it unleashed itself as a mighty wave of light, striking Manjoume for 600 points of damage.

"Trap card activate, Balance of Echoes." A huge, violent explosion of Light erupted right in front of Jun, consuming his other face-down card. "When a Dragon on my field is destroyed by battle and sent to the grave, I can send one other card on my field to the grave to special summon from a deck a Dragon of the opposite attribute and the same level. Thus, I send my face-down Cleansing Water to special summon Light-End Dragon from my deck!" The lithe, serpentine dragon flew down to the field, roaring in fury in the name of its fallen comrade.

"Hmm, and now my cards get to activate their effects; with Wise Purpose's effect, Northwemko's attack power increases to thirty-five hundred, and since Presider was used as a sacrifice for the Ritual Summon, I now get to draw one card. That will be all for now."

"And that is all that will ever be for you! For while Northwemko is indeed immune to destruction by effects for the time being, it can still be targeted by them. Thus, I attack with Light-End Dragon and activate its effect, reducing its attack power by five hundred to reduce your monster's by fifteen hundred!" Light-End Dragon's aura grew swiftly, but the moment it began to encroach upon Northwemko, a great orange sun burst into being, washing away the dragon's light, and the dragon itself.

Jun was still smiling though. "I'd expected that. Which means the next time I try to activate my monster's effect, you won't be able to stop me. I summon Totem Dragon in defense position, and end my turn." Jun carefully watched as Echo drew her next card; the risk was great, but to stop Amon Garam, he would take any risk!

"I have to admit, you are a most curious child; your soul is united, but you continue to lie to yourself. You know in your heart that you can't win like that, and yet you refuse to stop doing so. As such, this duel is not the one I need to win."

"Wait…Asuka mentioned something about this, about you trying to win a glorious duel for Amon Garam." If he could just get one solid piece of information on their enemies… "What do you care so much about that man, trying to get a perfect victory for him? Why doesn't he just duel himself? Is he just not willing to take that risk himself, or is he just too afraid?" Jun idly hoped for an intense, revealing emotional response from Echo.

He was greatly disappointed.

"Because it is his role to lead. It is my role to fight for him, to be as his knight in shining armor. That is how it has always been with us, and how it shall always be. If that piece of knowledge does not bring you the clarity you need to duel properly against me, then there is nothing more for me to say."

"Clarity?" Jun couldn't figure it out; how was that non-starter of a story supposed to bring him clarity? And then it rushed back to him, the feeling behind those old memories in his heart, the ones he'd been so determined to lock away forever.

* * *

"Chousaku! Shouji!" A young Jun called out to them from across the field, an actual field as opposed to a dueling field. As he ran to them, he knew that he was getting further and further from Mother and Father, but he didn't worry about that, they weren't going anywhere. But if he let his brothers get away from him, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

"Heh, I guess we really couldn't ditch him after all, could we?" Chousaku said, stroking his chin in preparation for the beard that he planned to grow.

"That's because you made sure that he'd be able to find us." Shouji said, rubbing the back of his head in visible frustration. Yet even he managed to find a way to smile in pride. "But I suppose it is for the best that all three of us be here for this moment."

Finally, Jun was right there with his brothers, and as he caught his breath, he watched the cherry blossoms drifting in the wind. The Manjoume had this plot of land reserved every year, and they never failed to observe the transient nature of it all. "You guys," Jun said, standing up with his back straight, "you're planning to do one of those brother ceremonies, like in the comics, aren't you?"

"Well, what can I say?" Chousaku said as he hefted the bottle of sake in his hand, an item discretely obtained from a servant of the family who had more motivation than anyone not to give away where that bottle had ended up, or how it had gotten there. "You are a Manjoume after all, even if your head is in the clouds, along with all the rest of the creatures on those cards of yours."

"Come on!" Jun said, vigorous in his attempts to keep the whine out of his voice. "Only babies think that the monsters are real. I just really think that the game will change the world, that's all."

"That's all, he says." Shouji affected sarcasm in his voice, yet the expression of his voice told a, somewhat, different story on the matter. "But I suppose the level of attendance at your latest tournament does give some credence to your suggestion." He then set the saucers down on the nearby stump.

"Of course it does. Seto Kaiba himself…"

"Yeah yeah, we've heard it before Jun." Chousaku said, his tone light, soft. "Come on, we wouldn't forget the words of our little brother that easy, right? And you won't forget ours either, will you?" Chousaku then poured the sake into all three saucers, using only a tiny little bit for the third. He took the first saucer, handed the second to Shouji, and gave the third, barely any-there saucer to Jun. "All right, this is it. I hereby vow that I shall form the political connections necessary to continue the Manjoume group's rise to greatness."

Shouji held his saucer up. "I hereby vow that I will form the business connections necessary to continue the Manjoume Group's rise to greatness."

"And I," Jun said as he stood on his toes to get his saucer on the same level as his brothers, "will use my dueling to prove the pride and strength of the Manjoume group, and show the world our true greatness!" Together the Manjoume brothers clinked the saucers together, and together they took their drinks.

* * *

Jun looked over to his brothers, Chousaku and Shouji. He could see it in their eyes, the same memories playing for them as well. "I guess we all just wanted to forget that, didn't we?"

"After Mother and Father died, remembering something even halfway as happy as that…" Chousaku's voice trailed off, the expression on his face grim.

"I was trying to get us to face reality, trying to keep us from losing everything to those scavengers on the board of directors." Shouji looked away as he spoke, unwilling as yet to be completely honest with himself.

"Nevertheless," Jun said, a calm, reserved smile on his face, "that is the truth that we all know is in our hearts. So I'll be the first to say it." Jun turned to face Echo. "I am here to save the company that my brothers had vowed to spend their lives to raise up to greatness. Not for my own sake, but because my dueling has been, is, and always shall be to prove the greatness of the name, Manjoume!" Jun chuckled a bit. "Now, go ahead, destroy my Totem Dragon. It will not bring you victory."

"Very well, Jun." Echo said with the most subtle of smiles, and in that same breath Totem Dragon was obliterated in the light. "Show me the truth of your strength, and whether it is worthy to face me."

"Gladly. I activate Totem Dragon's effect and special summon it from the grave, and then I sacrifice it for the summon of Burning Dragon!" A dragon made of lava tore its way out of the ground, and with its coming it launched twin columns of lava at Echo's spell cards, burning them to ash. "When summoned, Burning Dragon destroys all spells and traps on the field. Thus, your Northwemko is now as vulnerable as any other monster." Even so, Northwemko was still far more powerful than Burning Dragon. Thus, Manjoume had summoned it in defense position. "Now I'll set one card, and end my turn."

"You presume too much, Jun." Divine Grace Northwemko tapped her staff against the ground. "By removing Ritual of Grace within the grave from play, for this turn Northwemko can't be targeted by any card effects. Thus, I attack without fear or reservation of your face down card." The boiling lava of Burning Dragon's body cooled as the gentle light of Northwemko's grace washed over it, until there was nothing left but broken ash. And as Echo drew yet another card…

"And now I'll be activating my trap card, Immortal Dragon, to return Dark-End Dragon to my field!" Manjoume refused to brace himself for the possibility that Echo might counter his trap; he had no option but to go forward, and thus all other possible fears were irrelevant. And as his Dark-End Dragon descended upon the field, he felt his certainty rewarded.

"Capable, but you'll need far more then that to even damage me. I fear that even at your best, your duel can't meet the necessary standard. I end my turn."

"So you say, but you've yet to see the true form of my power! First, I activate Dark-End Dragon's effect, sending your monster to the grave!" Once more the all encompassing darkness consumed the monster of light. "And now I play Advance Draw, sacrificing my Level Eight dragon to draw two cards. And next, I play Star Blast; for every five hundred life points I pay, I can reduce the level of one monster in my hand by one. Thus, I pay two-thousand life points to reduce its level to four, allowing me to summon it without sacrifice…my pride, my very soul, Light and Darkness Dragon!"

Chaos itself descended upon the field as opposing forces were forced together in a union that only one monster could truly embody; Rei's resonance monsters were but a pale shadow next to this monster, the Light and Darkness Dragon.

"Now, no matter what you do at this point, Light and Darkness Dragon will negate your card effects, and even if you do manage to destroy it, that will simply allow me to special summon another one of my dragons back from the grave. You are a worthy opponent indeed, but even you can't overcome the monster of my soul!" Light and Darkness Dragon roared, reared back, prepared to breath a baptismal light upon Echo…

"I may indeed be a worthy opponent to you, but the same can't be said of you in return. When my opponent declares an attack, I can discard Herald of Red Light, along with one other Angel card in my hand, to special summon a monster in my grave." The light of Northwemko began to emerge from the underworld, but Light and Darkness Dragon responded instinctively, draining away its own power to negate Echo's card. "And now, in response to your monster's effect, I discard Herald of Black Light and an Angel Card."

The darkness was a deep darkness, deeper and more pure than any that Manjoume had ever seen before. It faded, Light and Darkness Dragon was gone, and Divine Grace Northwemko was on the field. "…I get it. You get to use that Herald when someone tries to negate another Herald's effect, and then you get to remove the offending card from play." Jun chuckled darkly. He had done everything absolutely right, and in the end he couldn't touch her. "Go ahead, finish this."

"Gladly." Slowly, gradually, Divine Grace Northwemko walked up to Jun, and he walked forward to meet her. Her attack was without malice or passion or any other feeling, at least towards him. Painlessly, Jun felt what remained of his life points fade away, and the duel was over. "The conditions are now met. The Manjoume Group now belongs to the Garam Group. Acting as Amon Garam's representative, I insist that you all removed from these grounds."

"You don't have to insist." Chousaku said as he walked past her to join Jun and the rest of the Duel Academia duelists.

"If there's one virtue that we do possess, it's recognition of when we've lost." Shouji walked directly to Jun, and put his hand oh his shoulder. "It would have been nice if you'd won, but there's no more sense in getting mad at you."

"Sorry, I really did want to come through for you guys." Jun then took a step back, away from his brothers. "So where are you guys going to go?"

"Worried about us?" Chousaku chuckled, sans any mirth. "For the first time, you have every reason to be worried about us. But don't; your brother and I aren't complete morons, we've managed to save some money, apart from the investments in the company."

"More importantly," Chousaku said, the regret plain on his face, "We're going to undo what we did to you Jun. There's no knowing how long it's going to take, but we'll spend our every free moment towards that end, won't we, Shouji?" That last bit was said a bit more firmly than was strictly necessary, but Shouji gave no objection to it.

"Well," Jun said, still on uncertain ground, "I better not see either of you two again, until you've gotten this whole mess you made all cleaned up, you got that?"

"Believe me, we do." With that, Chousaku and Shouji departed.

"You really did good there, Jun" Jun turned around, and saw Judai and Rei right behind him.

"Yeah, I'm really glad that you were able to patch things up with your brothers, at least a little bit."

"Hmph." Jun began to walk out of the office, and Judai and Rei followed, leaving Echo and Rin Ito behind. "If you think of the Manjoume brothers as a tattered quilt, only one small patch has been threaded back together. For now, anyway." For the first time in a long time, the thought of Jun's brothers did not bring disgust to him. Hell, he even contemplated smiling.

But not yet.

* * *

**Author's Note: **The flashback scene was strongly inspired by recent scene in the One Piece manga. Just thought I should mention that.


	20. Chapter 20

Edo Phoenix, Guardian of the Hearth

"Daiki, what are you doing?" Shou Marufuji had been walking down the hall, having just finished the final class for the day, when he came upon Daiki Kobayashi, standing in the corner, positioning himself as though he were trying to hide from someone, or follow someone without being seen. Daiki motioned him over without moving his head or making a sound, so Shou followed.

"It's actually a good thing that you've shown up just now. Look." Daiki quickly pointed out Emi Tanaka down at the other end of the hall, by herself. "I've been observing her, ever since the…incident, and I believe that her fixation on elevating the Obelisk Blue dorm into an artificial ultra-elite is being used by Amon Garam to further a far more disastrous end."

"Really?" Shou had no doubt that Daiki was right, at least about Amon Garam manipulating Emi Tanaka. "Why do you suppose Amon Garam would do that?"

"It took me a while to figure that out at first, but now it's incredibly obvious to me. First off, we all know that Haruka Endo and Yuuto Inoue were behind what happened at Kaiba Corp, we just can't prove it. Second, Takara Yoshida and Hachirou Sasaki, they're trying to establish that 'Amon's Army' of theirs…don't you see? Amon Garam is trying to establish a new hierarchy, with himself at the very top." He then turned to face Shou, a grim look on his face. "I'm sorry Shou, I'm certain that you can handle the temptation of the Obelisk Blue dorm as it exists currently, but for the good of Duel Academia, the elite must be torn down, and the first step in that battle is to stop Emi Tanaka, once and for all."

"I see." Truth be told, as Shou listened to Daiki elaborate on his thoughts, he himself had tried to draw on the power of the Silent Magician in his deck, that quiet power of perception, to try and see the signs of manipulation in Daiki; whether Dark or Light, Shou knew he could recognize either of them in an instant, the one boon that came of having been manipulated by both of them. And yet, he found nothing but Daiki himself, his conviction honest and true. And yet… "Daiki, aren't you worried, about yourself?"

"What do you mean Shou?" There was a mild twitch to his eye as he said this.

"Well, what if Amon Garam tried to manipulate you, the way you say he's manipulating Emi Tanaka?"

"Don't be absurd. My conviction, my dream, they are beyond anyone's ability to manipulate." Suddenly, he jerked his back in the direction of Emi Tanaka. "Shit, she's moved on." Furtively, he turned back to Shou. "When the time is right, I'll contact you again, and then we can finish off Tanaka once and for all." With that, Daiki Kobayashi took off, following Emi Tanaka at a safe distance.

"Amon Garam's definitely doing something," Shou muttered to himself, frustrated with himself. "But how are we supposed to stop it if we don't even know how or why he's doing all this?"

Shou's thoughts were then interrupted by Principal Samejima's voice on the PA system. "Everyone, I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news regarding Professor Takuma Saiou and Professor Mizuchi Saiou…"

* * *

"Edo, are you really going to let it end like this?" Rei Saotome looked at Edo Phoenix, who was facing away from her, sitting in his seat. Judai was also there, having agreed to accompany Rei when they'd found out what was about to happen to Takuma and Mizuchi Saiou. "After everything that you went through last year, are you really going to let Shinji Kato get away with this?" Rei's voice was strained, she visibly struggled to keep her composure.

"How am I supposed to stop him, Rei?" Edo's voice was haunted, empty. "Should I duel him again? The first time I dueled him, I was at the peak of my confidence, self-assured that I would win, and I still lost." Edo chuckled sardonically. "Do you know when the last time that I won a duel that actually mattered was? It was my joint duel with you last year, the one against Junko and Momoe. Even then, it was you who played the winning card in the end. My deck, it used to be powerful, but now…what can you expect from cards that are nearly ten years old at this point? Hell, I bet that by the time I get back into the Pro Leagues, half my deck will be banned anyway. Some legacy, huh?"

"You don't expect me to believe that you believe any of that, do you?" Rei's eyes narrowed, she stepped forward. "Those are all just excuses and you know it! You've lost before and it never shook you up before, you've never doubted your deck before, and even when Takuma defeated you, you never lost sight of the truth. So what is this really about Edo? You have to say it, or you'll lose Takuma and Mizuchi forever!"

"…Why do you care so much Rei?" Edo turned around to face Rei, the sorrow plain on his face. "Takuma and Mizuchi, who are they to you? They're the ones who took advantage of your cousin's despair, they're the ones who manipulated a young woman into murdering my parents…I thought that I could forgive them for all that, I thought that our friendship could survive all that. But now Shinji Kato's fighting for the sake of his family, so what can I bring against that?"

"So are you." Rei and Edo turned to Judai, who'd spoken suddenly, yet surely. "Edo, you need to defend your family too."

"Judai, what are you…" Edo looked on in confusion, but Rei's eyes lit up with understanding.

"No, Edo, I get it now, I really do, I know why you're really scared. Takuma and Mizuchi, they're your new family. You weren't there for your parents, and now you're afraid that you won't be able to be there for the Saious." Rei stepped forward and grabbed Edo firmly on the shoulders. "Take it from me Edo, you can't let yourself be afraid. It doesn't matter what anyone says or thinks, it doesn't matter what doubts you have, family is family, no matter what. Sometimes you have to be tough with your family, but right now you need to be there for them, and show them that you won't give up on them, no matter what!"

Edo stared up into Rei's eyes for a moment. He lifted her arms from his shoulders, walked over to his desk, and took out his deck. "I need to make a few adjustments. It will only take me a minute, maybe two."

"Sure thing Edo." Rei then grabbed Judai's sleeve. "Come on, let's see if we can't stall Shinji for a minute." The moment she pulled Judai out of Edo's room, she let out a pronounced sigh.

"Rei, that was really something back there." As Judai said this, his mind was already forming the connections between this, what he saw with the Manjoume Group, and what he heard about the Kaiba Corp incident from Asuka.

"Yeah, well, I'm just trying to keep us all together. The last thing we need around here is another family getting torn apart." With that, Rei and Judai took off, heading for the docks, where Shinji Kato stood waiting for his moment of victory.

* * *

"So, you've decided to be here after all." Edo Phoenix heard Shinji Kato's voice, but did not bother to look at him. His attention was entirely upon Takuma and Mizuchi, each of them trying to be strong for the sake of the other. He walked up to them, looked them in the eyes, his expression resolute.

"I'm sorry about all this. If I'd intervened sooner, neither of you would have had to have been put through this indignity."

"Edo, it's okay." Mizuchi said, her voice resigned. "Takuma and I, we're thankful for everything you've done for us, but the time has come for us to face the reality of our situation."

"No, that reality has not yet been decided." Edo gave a significant glance to Takuma, and then turned to face Shinji. He also noticed that Judai and Rei were there, and that Shou and the others were approaching from the distance. But he paid them no mind. "Shinji, I haven't forgotten your grievance, but I think that you've managed to forget all your talk about justice. Taking advantage of the fears and worries of the other students, just to get your way?"

"Justice, like freedom, is all about the end results. So long as Takuma and Mizuchi are forced to pay for their crimes, ostracized and isolated forever for what they've done to my family, I don't care what I have to do. Can your 'mercy' compare to that conviction?"

"Easily." Edo armed his Duel Disc. "Now lets finish this; I've got a lot of homework to catch up on, so the sooner I save my family, the better."

"Your family?" Shinji's eyes grew wide with rage as he armed his duel disc. "They're the ones who destroyed your family! Have you truly become so delusional that you would project your parents onto those unremitting criminals?"

Edo's voice was low, yet calm. It made itself effortless heard by everyone. "I'll let my card speak for me." An elaborate pentacle suddenly appeared on the ground, and in the center of that pentacle, appeared a dread creature. "By the power of Devil's Sanctuary, I summon the Metal Devil token to the field. By it's power, your hatred, your anger, your conviction, it will all be turned against you." In a single motion, Edo set five cards in his spell/trap zone. "If you can destroy your own hatred, then you stand a chance of defeating me. I end my turn."

"You think that's going to stop me? Have you already forgotten how trivially easy it was for me to destroy each and every one of your traps and spells? Let me remind you with my field spell, Coliseum!" Once more Edo Phoenix found himself in that cruel dungeon, where countless monsters were forced to battle for the pleasure of spectators. "And now I'll summon Gladiator Beast Hoplomus to eliminate your token at minimal cost." A heavily armored rhino leaped out of one of the cages and bore down on the Metal Devil Token as it shifted to assume the shape of its attacker. Hoplomus gored the Metal Devil token with its horn, 700 points of damage sympathetically transmitted to Shinji. But as Hoplomus pulled away from the battle…

"Trap card activate, Royal Right Hand." The outline of Granmarg the Rock Monarch manifested around the Metal Devil token. "So long as this card is on the field, whenever a monster I control would be destroyed, I send a Monarch from my hand or deck to the grave to negate that monster's destruction, and then I get to draw one card." The image of Granmarg faded, and the Metal Devil token was whole, the manifestation of Shinji's anger still unbroken.

"You've underestimated me, if you think that will form any sort of barrier to me; I activate Hoplomus's effect, and return it to my deck to special summon Secutor from my deck in defense position, and then I equip Secutor with Gladiator Beast's Battle Archfiend Shield, which will prevent it from being destroyed." The reptilian monster could barely be seen past the huge shield protecting it, crouching behind its menacing presence. "And now I end my turn, and now you have to pay the cost for your Metal Devil token, one thousand life points."

"Yes, or else it will be destroyed." Claws of billowing cloudy darkness reached up from the ground to claim the Metal Devil, but they were in turn disintegrated in a burst of light. "This of course triggers my trap card, sending Kuraz the Light Monarch to the grave, and allowing me to draw an additional card." Edo studied his hand for a moment. Then he looked at Shinji…

"What?" Shinji Kato said, a distinct twitch in his brow.

"Sorry, I guess I was wrong." Truth be told, Edo wasn't sure what he'd been looking for, just that he'd been looking for, for something that would hint at Amon's method behind this madness. "I end my turn."

"Hmph, I get it, you think you can wear me down, drain my life points until you can get in one last cowardly strike." Shinji's brow twitched a few more times, and he quickly produced a pill, and swallowed it. He continued as though nothing had happened. "I'll switch Secutor to attack position, and have him wear down your deck." Secutor clawed away at the Metal Devil, and the fire of Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch diffused those blows, redirecting them back at Shinji for 500 points of damage. "And now I'll activate Secutor's effect, special summoning Bestiari and Murmillo from my deck!" Murmillo the fish dived up out of the water, while Bestiari the winged-beast dived out of the air. "And when Bestiari is summoned by a Gladiator Beast's effect, I can destroy one spell or trap card on the field, so your Royal Right Hand will be gone in just a moment." Bestiari flapped its wings, generating a hurricane force wind, guiding right at Edo's trap card. But just as suddenly, Raiza the Storm Monarch appeared, and with its own wind it defied Bestiari's wind.

"Loyal Left Hand; so long as its on the field, I can send a Monarch from my hand or deck to the grave to prevent the destruction of a trap card I control, and then I can draw one card."

"All right, you really want me to exhaust the limits of your deck? To show everyone how slow and weak and empty your mercy is? Very well! I activate Murmillo's effect to destroy the Metal Devil token." Twin columns of water became consumed by the lightning summoned by Zaborg the Thunder Monarch. "And now, by returning Bestiari and Murmillo back to my deck, I can summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus to the field, whose effect will destroy two cards on the field!" A far stronger, more powerful winged beast rocketed down on the field, firing two focused blasts, one at the Metal Devil Token, the other, Royal Right Hand. Mobius and Caius appeared to block those attacks, and as they faded, both Royal Right Hand and Loyal Left Hand disappeared.

"Yes, without any Monarchs in my deck, both of them go to the grave. It's actually rather convenient, since now I have room to play spell cards again."

"Oh, you think so, do you? Well, you had no hope of defeating Heraklinos before, and it wont be any different this time! I play Gladiator Proving Ground to add Laquari to my hand, and summon it to the field." With that, Shinji Kato returned all three of his Gladiator Beasts to the deck to summon Herklinos the lion, the supreme beast. "And now that Archfiend Shield has returned to my hand, that's four spells or traps I can negate and destroy, and with four counters on Coliseum, that makes thirty-four hundred attack points. Just like before, isn't it?"

"For you, yes." Edo was calm, confident. He spoke without fear or confusion. "If I tried to duel you the way you're dueling me, I could never win. But sheer aggression, speed and force, they're not the only way to win. Let me show you this, the truth of the power of my deck, the deck whose purpose is to defend my family!" Edo drew his card, and paid one thousand life points to keep the Metal Devil token on the field. "Now, I play Enemy Controller, sacrificing my Metal Devil token to take control of your Heraklinos."

"As though I'd let you!" Heraklinos held up its shield, and negated Edo's spell, wasting the Metal Devil token's sacrifice.

"And now I'll play Soul Exchange, allowing me to sacrifice your Heraklinos for one of my cards."

"Are you just throwing your cards away on purpose?" Shinji had an honest look of confusion on his face, his inability to grasp Edo's strategy visible in his eyes.

"No, I just need to finish setting the stage. Now I'll activate Monster Reborn to special summon Kuraz back from grave." Once more Heraklinos activated its effect, and the King of Light was once more back in the grave. "And finally, I'll activate my spell card, Stray Goat." This too, was blocked. "And with that all the cards in your hand are gone, which means that my trap card's activation will proceed as planned." There was a sudden pillar of light, shooting high into the heavens. A distinct animus of power gathered around Edo Phoenix. "With Legacy of the King, I discard my hand, and then for every Monarch in my grave, I can add a level-four or lower monster from my deck or grave to my hand." As the cards left his hand, the effect of Devoted Faithful One activated, special summoning two tokens to the field.

"No…you couldn't be…" The light of comprehension found its way to Shinji Kato, and what he saw scared him to his very core.

"In addition to Samsara Warrior and Spell Striker, I also take the Right Hand, Left Hand, Right Leg, Left Leg, and finally, Exodia itself!" A great pentagram etched itself into the air behind Edo, a sight that had only been legitimately achieved once in the storied history of dueling. "As great as your desire for vengeance in the name of your family is, my need to defend mine from the likes of you, from people who dare to call a vendetta 'justice'…it is infinite!" Exodia stepped forward, out of the pentagram, and it unleashed an inferno that, if it had been real, could have obliterated the whole island. As it stood, all that came of it, was a complete and absolute victory for Edo Phoenix. He walked up to Shinji Kato, who'd collapsed to his knees in shock. "You tell Amon Garam that Takuma and Mizuchi are off limits. Do you understand that?"

Shinji Kato stood up, turned away from Edo, and left without saying a word.

"Edo…" Takuma Saiou said as he walked over to him, wiping away the tears that were streaming down his eyes. "You've…"

"You don't have to say anything. You two are my family, my whole world. I know now, there's nothing I won't do for you two." Mizuchi walked up to Edo as well, her expression only marginally more composed then her brother's.

"And there's nothing we won't do for you Edo." The three shared no more words. No more were needed.

"Wow, Edo's really something, isn't he?" Judai said, his heart filling up with warmth.

"Yeah. Just needed to give him a little nudge, and he took care of the rest on his own." Rei discretely wiped the tear from her eye, an easy enough task, since all attention was on Edo and the Saious.

* * *

"Tell me, Shinji Kato, has your resolve been affected by this outcome?" Shinji had been making his way to Amon Garam's cabin to speak with him, so when Amon Garam confronted him halfway there, he'd been caught off guard.

"Of course it has! He summoned Exodia!" Even now he could see that towering, infinitely powerful monster obliterating all the strength of his deck in a single go. "There's only one other time anyone's ever summoned Exodia, and that was Yuugi himself! For him, for Edo to be able to summon that…"

"It is not in you to give up." Amon Garam narrowed his eyes as he closed the distance between them.

Shinji became vaguely aware of the fact that Echo was behind Amon, conversing with Emi Tanaka. But he could not hear what they were saying, at least not over the sudden pounding headache that had descended upon him.

"You are the only member of your family who is still free to act, still able to exact the justice that you know that they deserve. Yes, he managed to defeat you, but you'd already defeated him once before, and now that he's revealed his strongest hand to you, you can prepare for that, and win."

Shinji Kato had fallen to his knees, gripped his head, and his arms would not stop shaking. "But…I saw it…it was just like with me and my…" He tried to say it, to think it, but the headache flared beyond his capacity for rational thought, making dumb his voice, dull his mind.

"I know you better than this Shinji. You are not one to give in to false illusions, just to make things easier for yourself. You seek freedom from your condition, freedom for your family, and these are goals that can only be achieved if you forget all mercy, and exact your final justice upon Edo Phoenix."

Shinji Kato stopped. His breath became still, and he suddenly stood up, his expression clear. He produced another pill, swallowed it, and looked to be at peace.

"There, you see Shinji? All the doubt is now gone from your mind. Now, you've had a long day, so please, rest yourself. The opportunity for your justice to prevail, will avail itself to you before long." Amon Garam patted Shinji on the shoulder, and the young duelist left without a word. Amon then turned around to face Echo, and he saw that Emi Tanaka had also departed. "It's like I've told you Echo. Cogito, Ergo, Sum. Of course, Descartes never dreamed of the true applications of this principal."

Amon Garam walked past Echo, in the direction of his cabin, and as he did, Echo's expression deviated from its normal calm, if only for a moment. If only for a moment, her expression was deeply melancholy, a long hidden fear and despair. Echo quickly suppressed the feeling, as she did whenever this situation came up, and followed after Amon to their cabin.


	21. Chapter 21

Head Nurse Ayukawa, Devotee of Truth

"Miss Ayukawa?" Daichi Misawa had found her in her office, slumped over her desk, asleep. He looked to Momiji Todo, who shrugged in a noncommittal fashion, and so Misawa took the simplest course of action available to him. "Miss Ayukawa?" He spoke more firmly, and gently nudged her arm.

This produced the desired effect, as she suddenly jerked into wakefulness, and stared at Misawa, as though she didn't recognize him. Then she looked to Momiji, and she seemed to wake up the rest of the way. "I'm sorry, you two caught me in the middle of a dream, and for a moment I'd thought that Misawa was Fubuki, and that Momiji was…" She blanched but could tell it was already too late; Momiji was nothing if he wasn't observant, especially about that sort of issue.

"No need to apologize, Head Nurse Ayukawa…in many ways it is a great compliment to be associated with Ryoko Marufuji, even if only in the vague fugue of a half-remembered dream." Momiji then reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out his DA PDA. "In any event, Misawa and I have come here to provide you with the information we've compiled from the events at Kaiba Corp. We're hoping that with your extensive medical knowledge, you'll be able to figure out a more efficient method for us to be able to defend ourselves against this sort of attack."

"Sure, sure, that makes sense." Ayukawa said with a yawn; she was already dealing with Midori Hibiki's condition, resolving the mystery of Kouyou Hibiki, and trying to figure out the method of Amon Garam's control over the students he'd brought to Duel Academia, what was one more impossible task… "Hold on a second." She said to no one in particular as she brought up certain files on her computer. "I remember reviewing these papers while Judai and Asuka were unconscious after their confrontation with The Terror of Death…"

Misawa only needed a moment to see how absorbed Ayukawa had become, to see the light of revelation in her eyes. "Thank you for your time, Head Nurse Ayukawa." He then turned to Momiji, "Come on, I think she'll do her best work if we're not here to distract her."

Misawa and Momiji closed the door to Ayukawa's office behind them, and began to make their way back to Ra Yellow. "Misawa," Momiji said, his brow furrowed, "If I might ask a personal question at a time like this, do you ever think that it would be better if I were to be more like Ryoko in…certain regards?"

"Not at all." Misawa said this with confidence, and as he took Momiji's hand in his, he knew that this momentary fear in his dear friend had now been dispelled.

* * *

"Enough is enough, Daiki." Emi Tanaka abruptly turned and glared at one of the trees by Amon Garam's cabin. "I know that you've been following me, that you've become bent on trying to prevent me from fulfilling my dream."

"You know that much," Daiki said as he emerged from behind the tree, his bearing cold and vicious, "and yet you don't know to give up on your corrupted dream? Haven't you figured out yet that you're being used by Amon Garam as part of some plot to advance his own interests?"

"Are you confusing me for Takara Yoshida? If either of us is playing into Amon Garam's hands, duped into thinking that they're acting in their own interests, it's you; after all, try and dissolve the dorm system at a time like this would hopelessly cripple Duel Academia, exactly the sort of thing that someone intent on taking it over would want."

"You can't be serious." Daiki had the look of someone who was dealing with a complete lunatic. "It's obvious from your distorted reactions, all the way back to your duel with Professor Chronos, that you're not in control of your own actions. Fortunately, it won't take me long to deal with you; I've already arranged for Shou Marufuji to assist me, and I contacted him just before I allowed you to spot me. He'll be here in a matter of minutes."

"Aah, I must apologize, Daiki Kobayashi." Amon Garam's smooth voice cut through the tense confrontation as he himself emerged from the woods. "You see, I've arranged it thus that whenever I'm not in my cabin, a special electromagnetic field is projected over it and the area around it. So long as this field is up, it is impossible for any transmissions to be sent out, or to be received." Amon Garam smiled benignly as he reached Daiki, and put his hand on his shoulder. "Fortunately, it is just as well, as it should it not be necessary to involve outsiders in this personal dispute, don't you think, Daiki Kobayashi? Emi Tanaka?"

* * *

"I'm glad you could all make it on such short notice." Head Nurse Emi Ayukawa said as she addressed the faculty, her hair disheveled and her make-up a bit smudged. "I felt it important that you all hear this, in person, as soon as possible."

"Of course, Miss Ayukawa." Principal Samejima said, leaning forward to support herself after yet another sleepless night. "You've been putting a lot of work into this, so I knew it would bear fruit before long."

Professors Mizuchi, Takuma, and Chronos were all seated, silent, awaiting the news that Ayukawa had to report.

"All right, I need to start from the beginning; before Kouyou Hibiki arrived, I'd been looking into the backgrounds of the students that Amon Garam had brought to us, to see if there was any connection between them that would hint at Amon Garam's true plans. In the course of that search, I've looked into the medical and family history for Shinji Kato, Emi Tanaka's duel tournament history…they were all blanks. Past a certain point, the records that should exist, the people that should exist, do not."

"There is no record for the doctor who supposedly prescribed Shinji Kato's medication, not a hint of the whereabouts of the hospital where his family is supposedly being taken care of, nor even a breath of Emi Tanaka's participation in any tournament in the Hokkaido region over the past ten years."

"The rest have similar blanks in their records, places where the illusion could only be maintained so far before it all broke down."

"Illusions?" Professor Chronos slammed his hands down on the table. "Are you saying that those eight students, that they too are an illusion, like the ones that Kouyo Hibiki used to make his escape from the island?"

"Nothing of the sort, Professor Chronos…though I will grant you that for the longest time, that seemed as good an explanation as any for this bizarre mystery. But now, I've managed to find the truth, thanks to a little unintentional nudging from Daichi Misawa and Momiji Todo."

* * *

"Amon Garam, do you really expect me to believe that you could have such a device?" Daiki Kobayashi pulled out his DA PDA. "Look, the signal strength is just fine, and as you can see, my message was sent three minutes ago exactly…what?" Daiki peered into the screen of his PDA. "Of course I sent it, I distinctly recall sending it, it happened only a moment ago!" The vein on his forehead began to pound like a hammer, growing more intense as he stared into the screen.

"Daiki, please put that away; it is obvious that you are suffering from eye-strain." Amon gently pushed down on Daiki's arm, causing his grip to weaken, and fail. Then Amon turned to face Emi Tanaka. "I apologize for Daiki's poor behavior; can I trust that you will not unduly interfere in his ambitions, at least until Kouyou Hibiki returns?"

"I don't see how that's possible, Amon Garam." Emi Tanaka's breathing became a bit more shallow than it was a moment ago. "Our goals are mutually incompatible. As far as I'm concerned, it's better that we resolve this now, that my duel should decisively crush his, and prove my ambitions to be superior to his."

"Believe me, I do not doubt that you two will need to duel soon," and in that moment Echo appeared, as though from nowhere, "but I will have to insist that neither of your dreams be prematurely crushed, or fulfilled."

"What are you…gahh!" Emi Tanaka suddenly felt as though her whole head was about to erupt, and as she fell to her knees, she saw through one still open eye that Daiki was in the same position as her.

"Fortunately for the both of you, this turn of events was planned for, and as such it was already resolved long ago."

* * *

"Are…are you entirely serious, Miss Ayukawa?" Takuma Saiou was left gaping at Emi Ayukawa's proposed explanation for the vast gaps in the personal histories and backgrounds of Amon Garam's students.

"I have to admit…even with everything we've seen, and done, what you are proposing boggles the mind." Mizuchi Saiou found herself trying to imagine how she and Takuma could have used their powers to have achieved what Amon Garam supposedly had, and found that she could not.

"It is indeed a staggering possibility, but in the face of all the evidence that Misawa and all the others have brought to us, I can't see any other possibility; Amon Garam, by manipulating the dream state, has intensely conditioned each of his students into believing whatever narrative he wants them to believe. Everything that they believe about their histories, and their goals, it is all a fiction designed to make sure that they behave as he wants them to, all for the sake of creating opponents to oppose the best and brightest at Duel Academia."

"Really, it makes too much sense; how could Amon Garam have just 'found' eight people of the right age, the right personalities, the right ambitions, in just a few months? No, this has all been calculated and prepared far too precisely, for any other explanation to account for everything."

"…So, what do you propose that we do, Head Nurse Emi Ayukawa?" Principal Samejima said with a heavy sigh, wondering what else the future could possibly have in store for them.

"That…that, I haven't figured out yet. But the matter of Amon Garam's control over his students, is not the only matter that I've been looking into."

"I've also been looking into the medical records concerning Kouyou Hibiki, and unfortunately, that information reveals a mystery beyond even the last one. We all know that Kouyou Hibiki has been in a coma for years, and that the apparent sudden vitality that he demonstrated when he was here defies all medical knowledge…but the fact of the matter, is that even if he had three years, or three decades to recover, he could not have exhibited even a tenth of that vitality."

Emi Ayukawa took a deep breath, knowing that once she aired her suspicions, they could never be taken back. "Despite the hospital's urgings of hope to Midori Hibiki and Judai Yuki, the fact of the matter is that Kouyou Hibiki's condition was hopeless in every capacity that it could be. His circulatory system, his bones, his muscles, every major organ group, his nervous system, even his brain, they had all degraded beyond any reasonable standard of living. Only by the most extensive medical treatment could the functioning of his heart and brain stem be maintained, and even then he would not survive past the end of the year."

Silence settled over them. Then it was broken.

"You are of course absolutely correct, Head Nurse Ayukawa."

They all turned as one to face him, unsurprised that he had appeared so suddenly among them, Kouyou Hibiki.

* * *

"You are sure, Echo?" Amon Garam had turned away from Daiki Kobayashi and Emi Tanaka, as they just stood there listlessly, waiting for the final subconscious commands to be activated by either Amon Garam or Echo. "Kouyou Hibiki has returned to the island?" He looked intently into her eyes, and found what he was looking for in her firm and resolute gaze. "A touch earlier than expected, but again, well within the parameters of the plan." He turned to face Daiki Kobayashi and Emi Tanaka. "Cogito ergo sum, return to rest." With that, Daiki and Emi departed, silent, unaware of the presence of the other. "Echo, let us meet with our patron."

They departed, Echo walking just behind Amon Garam, her watch vigilant.

* * *

"So, why have you come here, you ghost?" As Emi Ayukawa spoke, all four members of the faculty stood, prepared for an imminent duel. "Are you going to erase or alter our memories, or incapacitate us the way you did to your own sister?"

"Ghost?" Kouyou said with a somber expression as he walked up to Ayukawa. "I suppose that is one way to refer to me; I am after all only able to be here because of my unfinished business." Then he put his hand out to Ayukawa, exposing his wrist. "But then again, this body of mine is real, and my blood still runs through my veins. You are free to confirm this for yourself." He saw that Ayukawa had no intention of checking, and so he withdrew his arm. "In any event, I have no intention creating anymore trouble for you all than I already have; I am simply here, because I would like to be able to meet with a couple of legends while I still have the chance."

"A couple of legends…?" Emi Ayukawa had only a moment to think about this, before Ms. Tome suddenly entered the room.

"Everyone, I have…!" She stared in shock at Kouyou Hibiki. There was a terse silence.

"Ms. Tome, it has been a long time." Kouyou Hibiki said as he bowed down before her. "I know I have no right to ask your forgiveness for what I've done, but I can assure you that if you bear with me, you will see why I've done all this. Now please, tell everyone what you've come to tell them; I have a feeling that everyone will want to hear it before long."

Ms. Tome looked askance at Kouyou, and turned to face the faculty directly. "Everyone, I've been calling in some favors for a while now, taking advantage of some connections I've formed, and long story short, Katsuya Jounouchi and Mai Kujaku will be here at Duel Academia tomorrow!"

At once, a manic energy filled the room. Principal Samejima was already on the PA system, announcing the upcoming event. Professor Chronos was already on the Duel Academia official website, updating everything to let everyone know the details of the special schedule for tomorrow, while Takuma and Mizuchi Saiou immediately set about putting the necessary logistics into motion. And in the eye of that storm of frantic activity, stood Emi Ayukawa and Kouyou Hibiki.

"Whatever you have in mind, I'm not worried." Emi Ayukawa said as she walked past Kouyou Hibiki. "You may be a world champion, but you're still earthbound, while the legends are like the stars themselves."

Kouyou watched her as she walked away, and sighed as he spoke to himself. "And yet, the human heart still dreams of reaching out to the stars." He then stepped out and saw Amon Garam and Echo approaching. Kouyou Hibiki began to smile, for an entirely different reason, an entirely different purpose.

"I wonder, Kouyou Hibiki, what is your true face anyway?" Amon Garam said with a sardonic grin.

"It is as you are so fond of saying, Amon Garam; Cogito ergo sum. For what I intend to do, I will wear whatever face is needed."


	22. Chapter 22

Katsuya Jounouchi, From Nobody to Legend

"Midori, can you believe it, they're going to be here any minute now!" Judai hoped beyond hope that this would elicit a response; it could have been a deep breath, a fluttering, even a sudden spike from one of the machines that she'd been hooked up to, anything at all. Unfortunately, Midori was the same as she had been; silent, still, like one of her angels before it had fallen. "I'm sorry, I wish I could have kept all this from happening, but everyone's really pulled together. Just the other day, I saw Rei fight for the Manjoumes, and I saw them reconcile, and Edo saved Takuma and Mizuchi Saiou, and now they're all happier than they've been for a long time. Junko and Momoe, they fought real hard for everyone here at Duel Academia and even when they lost, they didn't give up. Misawa and Momiji, they've helped Head Nurse Ayukawa put together some of the pieces of the puzzle, and Asuka…" He sighed, the mere thought of her bringing warmth to his heart.

"Asuka, she's really incredible. After what happened at Kaiba Corp with Daitokuji, after I gave her back her Kuriboh, it's like," Judai waved his arms around, like he was trying to grab the words right out of the air, "like this veil wrapped around her heart's been taken off. I've seen her and Echo pass each other by once, and Asuka looked like she was ready for her, almost daring her to try to challenge her." Judai's expression drooped a bit. "Everyone else, they've all risen to the challenge one way or another, and all I've been able to do is watch over you. Even though Kouyou's returned, I still can't bring myself to challenge him." For a moment it appeared in his mind; last year, when Mizuchi Saiou had sealed off the Osiris Red dorm with the powers of darkness, he'd been attacked by nightmares of Kouyou summoning monsters and attacking everyone, telling him to stop him. Judai banished the memory back to the depths of his mind. "I want to be able to live up to your expectations, I want to be able to meet all of everyone's expectations, but…"

"Judai." Judai turned his head, and saw the usually controlled Misawa practically pacing in place. "Katsuya Jounouchi and Mai Kujaku are going to be here in five minutes. You don't want to miss them like you almost did with Yuugi Mutou in our first year, right?"

"Don't worry Misawa, I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Judai watched as Misawa then ran off, clearly eager to meet his idol Jounouchi. Judai then stood up, and looked down at Midori's silent body. "Maybe meeting the Legendary Duelists will give me the kick in the pants I need." Judai began to head for the door, and paused. "Wish me luck, okay, Midori?" He took her silence as an affirmative, and ran for the docks.

* * *

"So this is Duel Academia, eh?" Katsuya Jounouchi said as he stepped onto the docks, stretching his arms from left to right, glancing at Mai for a moment before bringing his attention to the crowd before him. He met their smiling faces with one of his own, until he focused on the three people in the front. He addressed the man with the spiky red hair and green cape, "And you must be Amon Garam."

"Indeed I am," Amon said with a bow, "My companion is Echo, and my associate is Kouyou Hibiki, the three-time world champion, and he's been looking forward to meeting the two of you for some time now." He stepped aside to let Kouyou, dressed in his iconic red coat, through.

"It is indeed a great honor for us all that you've come to visit, for even the most skilled duelists among us can still look up to you legends." Kouyou stuck out his hand, Jounouchi did not return the favor.

"So you're Kouyou Hibiki? The guy who put his own sister in a coma?" As Jounouchi spoke, his voice lined with a dark edge, his eyes briefly darted back to Mai.

"Jounouchi, please relax." Mai Kujaku said with a worn, yet firm tone. Then she directed her voice to Kouyou. "You'll have to forgive him, he has a big-brother complex bigger than this whole island." Mai then narrowed her eyes. "That said, I still don't trust you as far as I can throw you, which is actually quite a bit."

"I don't blame you in the least for that, but with the choices available to me, I decided that I would have to accept this as my cost."

"That said," Amon Garam said as he stepped forward, "If I may guess, I would say that that the Duel King, Yuugi Mutou, has requested that neither of you engage Echo or Kouyou unprovoked. If so, I can most certainly honor such a request, for I have no cause to provoke either of you."

"You know," Jounouchi said, "Fourteen years ago, and I would have punched you in the face, just as a matter of principal…" He didn't see Echo move, he'd only felt her presence as she interposed herself between him and Amon Garam.

"Thirteen years ago, I would have been right here to stop you from even trying." Her tone was curt, her words chosen with exacting precision.

"So, you do talk after all." Mai Kujaku said with a sardonic tone. "Here I was, thinking that you were like the nymph that you were named after. Still, fourteen years ago, you were only a child back then."

"Even as a child, I was more than prepared to protect Amon Garam in all ways." With that, Echo stepped back, giving way to Amon.

"Anyway," Jounouchi said in a deliberately lighter tone, "It's not fourteen years ago, and Yuugi did ask us not to start any fights with you people." He then turned his head to the larger crowd of faculty and students. "He trusts that you'll all be able to handle these punks on your own."

"That's right," Mai said with practiced cheer, "We're just here for some touring, some rest and relaxation, and…" She paused, as one student in the crowd stood out in her eyes, which had grown quite wide. "No way." She made her way to the young blonde woman, and looked her in the eyes.

"Ms. Mai Kujaku?" The young woman said, seeming more than a little overwhelmed.

"Asuka Tenjouin!" Mai said with genuine excitement, patting the younger duelist on the shoulders. "You know, you made quite the impression on me when you were just a little kid." Mai then pushed Asuka back a bit, and looked her over, up and down. "Hmm, that Kaiba really doesn't have any fashion sense at all, does he? I mean, yeah, it's functional, but it doesn't flatter your figure at all."

Asuka's face became beet red, an exceptionally rare occurrence, and a brown haired boy dressed in a red uniform stepped forward, a fierce look on his face. "Hey, Asuka likes her uniform and…" It was then that the boy truly noticed Mai Kujaku's attire; while Katsuya Jounouchi was dressed casually, or sloppily if one didn't feel like being generous, Mai was dressed like she always was, which was to say, provocatively. It was not the exact same provocative that she'd worn years earlier, but the concessions she'd made to the passage of time were minor indeed.

Asuka looked at the boy askance. "Judai, didn't you react the same way with Anzu Mutou?"

"Really?" Judai seemed a bit shaken by what Asuka had just said. "I suppose you're right. Sorry Asuka, if we ever get to meet Isis Ishtar or Shizuka Kawai, I promise I won't react that way."

"Damn straight you won't, you punk." Jounouchi muttered under his breath, having made his way over at some unknown point in the conversation.

"Pardon," A deep, yet distinctly feminine voice called out to the two Legendary Duelists, drawing their attention to the tall, broadly built woman who stood at the lead of the faculty. "I am principal Samejima, and this is Professor Chronos, Professor Takuma Saiou, and Professor Mizuchi Saiou." Principal Samejima gestured to each professor in turn, and they each bowed slightly to Jounouchi and Mai. "Furthermore, this is Ms. Tome, who is responsible for arranging your arrival here today."

"All I did was call a friend of a friend and ask a favor here and there, that's all." Ms. Tome said with a slight blush.

"You kidding me here?" Jounouchi said, an easy smile on his face. "If that's all you did, then Mai and I are super legends!" A light chuckle spread throughout the crowd, and then Principal Samejima cleared her throat.

"I've prepared a podium not too far from here, for you to take questions from the students. Unless of course, you'd rather not, in which case we have several other events on the schedule…"

"Are you kidding?" Mai said as she wrapped her arm around Samejima's shoulder. "We'd love to!"

* * *

"Listen up everyone." Professor Chronos said, speaking a bit too close to the microphone, prompting him to resolve the feedback issue. "While this is indeed a rare opportunity to speak to a pair of living legends, I can not stress enough that no matter how curious you may be, certain questions are simply out of the question! You know exactly what I mean, so I will not play the fool and explicate the questions in question!"

Shou Marufuji was thankful that no one was looking at him; if anyone had noticed his blush, had realized just how many of the sorts of questions that Professor Chronos had obliquely referred to were running through his head…

"Hey, relax old man." Jounouchi's casual appellation riled Professor Chronos considerably. "We're the Legendary Duelists, remember? I think we can handle a few overeager, personal questions from some excited kids. Don't you agree, Mai?" Jounouchi turned his head to Mai as he spoke the last part.

"Oh absolutely." Mai said as she took the front and center. "Come on, don't be shy, it doesn't suit a duelist to be timid!"

Shou's blush only grew worse, and as he nervously looked around, making absolutely sure that no one else was looking his way, he saw them, the student's that Amon Garam had sponsored, was controlling. They were all seated together, apart from the other students…and not one of them was the least bit invested in what was going on. Shou was perplexed; even if their memories and motives were faked, scripted by Amon Garam, they were still duelists, so shouldn't they have been excited too?

"My name is Daichi Misawa, and if I may, I would like to ask the first question." Shou looked over to Misawa, who stood up as he spoke. "Katsuya Jounouchi, in the course of participating in Duelist Kingdom and Battle City, did you ever have any sense of or ambition towards becoming the legendary figure that you are now?"

"Sense of becoming a legend? Ambition of becoming a legend? Heh, who do I look like, Seto Kaiba?" The casual, dismissive, nay, derisive way that Jounouchi referred to Seto Kaiba shook most members of the audience, especially Misawa.

Again, Shou took a quick look at Amon's duelists, and their expressions were as dull as ever. Even Amon Garam, even Echo, managed more interest than them.

"Nah, when people started calling us 'Legendary Duelists', us being me, Mai, Seto, and Yuugi, it caught me completely off guard. But hey, it makes sense, you know? I mean, in all the stories, the real heroes out there, the ones who make the differences in people's lives, big or small, they don't worry about whether they'll become famous or anything like that, they just do what they think is right."

"That said," Mai said as she took the mic, "don't go thinking that there's something wrong with wanting a little recognition now and then. Let's face it, we wouldn't engage in all these flashy battles with giant solid vision holograms of demons and dragons and whatever else Industrial Illusions comes up with, if we weren't in it for the fame and glory at least a little bit. It's like they say, all things in moderation, even moderation. Believe in yourself, work with your friends, yadda yadda yadda, you get the drill, right?"

"I believe I do. Thank you very much." Daichi Misawa sat back down, a look of satisfaction on his face as several notions of his had been confirmed.

"Excuse me, Momiji Todo; I would like to ask Mai Kujaku what she believes the future of dueling holds for us all." As he said this, Shou noticed that his eyes darted over to Yuuto Inoue for a moment; he'd heard about the duel between them and their conflict, but he wasn't sure what he'd expected Mai to say that could relate to that.

"Ho ho, quite the philosophical question you've got there; you and your friend may not look the part, but I'm guessing you're two peas in a pod, right?" Mai Kujaku chuckled a bit, which actually managed to bring the most mild of blushes to Momiji's face. "But, to answer your question…it's you guys, isn't it? I mean, I wasn't the only one who thought that Seto Kaiba was being a complete and total loon for establishing a private high school dedicated almost entirely to Duel Monsters, but hey, I've been wrong before, and I'm sure I'll be wrong again in the future. So, whatever crazy ideas you all come up with for changing the face of dueling forever, I'll sit back, relax, and enjoy the show, 'cause believe you me, as far as I'm concerned I've done my part."

Shou watched Mai's gaze as she looked over the gathered student body, and it was only then that he really noticed how much he'd taken for granted the even split of boys and girls in attendance at Duel Academia; he'd always known that back in the days of Duelist Kingdom and Battle City that duelists were predominately male, and now he remembered how his sister Ryoko had only truly become serious about becoming a duelist, truly focused on studying all the great duels, after Mai Kujaku had started on her circuit of trying to inspire young women and girls to take up the mantle of duelist.

"…My name is Junko Makita," And it was then that Shou realized that in the course of dwelling on all that, he'd actually managed to miss out on at least a few questions and answers. This, of course, only contributed to the sense of embarrassment that he knew he would have to shake off, and very soon! "My question is for Mai Kujaku, and I was wondering…" She paused, her tension palpable in the way she breathed, "I was wondering, do you suppose it would be possible for us to see you duel while you're here?"

"Tempting, but I'm going to have to decline; I consider being here as my vacation, and as unfortunate as it is, Duel Monsters has pretty much become work for me. Now, Jounouchi on the other hand, he's still a kid at heart, so you'll probably see him dueling before too terribly long."

"Hey, are you implying that I'm immature?" Jounouchi said to Mai, tongue firmly in cheek, and Shou decided that this was the time to act.

"Katsuya Jounouchi." Shou Marufuji said as he stood up, his gaze resolute. "I, Shou Marufuji, hereby challenge you to a duel, and if I prove victorious, I will immediately advance to Obelisk Blue."

"Woah, kid, we were just bantering, I'm not really…" Jounouchi's expression changed, becoming the kind of serious expression that Shou had seen many times in the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City DVDs. "Actually, you're on, Shou. We'll do it tonight, after Mai and I've had a proper chance to take a look around. Why don't you go ahead and make sure you've got your deck all prepared, because whatever you've got, it's gonna have to be a lot to take on a legend like me!"


	23. Chapter 23

Shou Marufuji,Transcending the Self

"All right Daiki, you called us all here, now what do you want?" Emi Tanaka said with pronounced bitterness, a sentiment which was not shared by any of the rest of Amon's Duelists. Rin Ito outwardly emulated the lone Obelisk Blue girl, but her expression lacked in conviction. Haruka Endo and Yuuto Inoue had just finished putting away the notes that they'd been sharing, while Hachirou Sasaki and Takara Yoshida glared silently at one another. Only Shinji Kato seemed to be apart from it all, his mood unconnected to the others.

"We just had the chance to see Katsuya Jounouchi and Mai Kujaku in person." Daiki Kobayashi said, plainly ignoring each of their respective moods. "We had the opportunity to ask them questions, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for duelists like us, and yet…until the moment that Shou challenged Jounouchi, I didn't care at all, it didn't mean a thing to me." Despite bracing himself for it, Daiki was forced to close one eye in response to the pain of the sudden migraine. "And it's exactly at this moment, as I'm bringing all this up to you, as I'm questioning the strangeness of it all, that I'm suddenly struck by this pain, unable to…to…" Daiki growled savagely and smashed his fist into the ground.

"Oh, that's convenient; pretend that you're under some sort of psychic attack or whatever, to cover the gaping holes in your story." Emi Tanaka said dismissively. "Really, why should any of us care about a couple of relics from the previous era? My only interest is in the future glory of the Obelisk Blue dorm, and as far as that goes, once Shou has demonstrated his superiority to that relic Jounouchi, he'll be more than worthy of the true Obelisk Blue dorm." Then Emi's eye twitched for a moment. "Of course, it will still be up to me to make sure that Obelisk Blue will be for the elite."

Daiki Kobayashi chuckled darkly as he rose back up on his feet. "You see? You almost wavered, but now you're back on the track that…that…" Daiki looked into the eyes of his fellow duelists, and saw himself brought to his knees by the pain of trying to name the one who had done this to them. "Look, you all know who I mean!" With that, all of them began to show mild signs of discomfort. "Yes, that's right, just a bit more, and we can unite our powers, and demonstrate once and for all that we don't need the dorm system…"

"Cogito ergo sum." Amon Garam's voice cut through the miasma of cognitive dissonance that afflicted his duelists, and they all stood silent and still. He turned to Echo, who was at his side. "Thank you for warning me, my Echo." She simply nodded, and stood at watch, making sure that no one would interfere at this delicate stage. Amon himself made his way to Daiki, looking down on him benignly. "Answer me, what do you remember about yesterday?"

"I didn't remember anything out of the ordinary until Shou challenged Jounouchi." Daiki spoke in monotone, without consciousness. "In that moment, I became aware that I had attempted to challenge Emi Tanaka, but when I tried to recall the details, there was a mental block. As such, I became suspicious, and decided to try and call upon my fellow duelists for help."

"I see…" Amon mused upon this for a moment, and then turned to address the whole group. "Depart for now, but make sure you attend the duel this evening; the time to act will come shortly thereafter." With that, all eight duelists split up, each going their own way.

"So, the Garam method can be overcome…this will be good to know in the days to come." He walked past Echo, silently motioning for her to follow. She indicated to him that she would be along shortly, and so he left her behind.

"Hmm, so that is why you are so loyal to him." Kouyou Hibiki said as he emerged into Echo's field of vision. "I have to admit, you have my sympathy for bearing such a burden."

"How did you…?" Echo's eyes darted to where Amon Garam had interrogated Daiki Kobayashi. "I see." Echo composed herself, a rare action for her to take indeed. "For your sake, do not force my hand."

"You don't have to worry about that; I have no more desire for Amon to know than you. I just wanted to know what dream you would be dueling for." Kouyou then reached into his pocket, and pulled out a card. Echo tried to see which one it was, but there was something…hazy, indistinct about it. "Yours is exactly the sort of dream that can make all this worth while." As he looked down at the card in his hand, Echo noticed a change in Kouyou's bearing, a sudden feebleness overcoming his being.

"I see." Echo said as Kouyou put the card away and returned to normal. "You really don't have much time left, do you?"

"And now we both know something that the other would not want spoken." Kouyou said with a wry smile. "Still, I know I can trust you not to speak of this to anyone else." Kouyou then turned around. "You should return to Amon; every moment you have together, is immeasurably precious." And then Kouyou was gone.

"…Whatever else you may be plotting, Kouyou, you have provided us with a unique opportunity." Echo sighed, and began making her way back to Amon, resuming the mental exercises that made it unnecessary for her to speak with him in order to communicate with him.

* * *

"All right, you all set there, uh, Shou Marufuji?" Katsuya Jounouchi said as he was once more surrounded by every single person on Duel Academia island. Well, he and his opponent.

"Absolutely, Katsuya Jounouchi." Shou thrust his fist out in a display of confidence as he armed his duel disc. "I know I don't stand much of a chance but I have to take it, no matter what. Because even failing miserably would still be better than not trying at all!"

"Heh, you're sure taking this seriously, aren't you, kid?" Jounouchi said with a cocky smile on his face as he armed his duel disc. "That's good, 'cause I'm not going to hold back one little bit; wouldn't do for a 'Legendary Duelist' such as myself to pull punches, am I right?" A brief moment of silence… "All right, why don't you go ahead and show me what you've learned here at Seto Kaiba's dueling school?"

"You've got it!" Shou drew his cards, and began his turn. "I now activate the Field Spell card, Magical Citadel of Endymion!" Arcane towers flashed into being, surrounding both duelists. "And now I summon Alchemist of Black Spells." A blue skinned man clad in a dark-blue robe lined with gold trimmings, a book in one hand and an orb in the other. "Once per turn, I can switch it to defense position and add one spell counter to a card that can have spell counters placed on it." The Alchemist got down on one knee and crossed his arms, tome and orb releasing energy for one of the many towers that surrounded the duelists. "Now I play Spell Power Grasp, placing two spell counters on Citadel and adding another one from my deck to my hand." Two more towers were filled with arcane power. "And now I'll set one card to end my turn."

"Whew, that's quite the set-up you've got there." Jounouchi said as he examined the solid vision citadel that he found himself in. "Almost reminds me of a certain other duel, but enough of that, it's time for me to start pulling my weight! First, I play Foolish Burial, sending a monster from my deck to the grave, and now I'll play Monster Reborn to summon that monster onto the field."

As two more towers began to glow, a hole appeared in the ground just behind Jounouchi. In a singular rush, a monster flew up out of the ground, humanoid, dressed in green leather, with spikes jutting out of the long collar around its neck, and on its face was a tight mask, and its veins were throbbing and huge.

"That's…that's…" Shou Marufuji could only stare in shock at the swiftness with which Jounouchi had summoned one of his most famous monsters, the first he'd won from Battle City.

"That's right, Jinzo, which means neither of us is going to be activating any trap cards." Jounouchi then paused for a moment as he looked upon Shou's face down card. "That card you've got there, it wouldn't happen to be Magician's Circle, would it?"

"How'd you know?" Shou said with eyes wide in shock.

"The same reason I decided to duel you; you remind me of a good friend of mine, so I thought I'd see if you dueled like him." Jounouchi cracked an easy grin. "So far, so good."

Shou could only stare in shock as he took in Jounouchi's casual declaration. "Mr. Jounouchi, I'm really flattered, but I don't think that I'm anything like-!"

"Nonsense, that attitude's exactly like Yuugi's!" Jounouchi said as he abruptly interrupted Shou. "At least, back when we were around your age anyway. Now, I know Yuugi can take this, so this should be no sweat for you; I summon Rocket Warrior to the field, and I'll equip him with Light Laser." As the rocket shaped warrior took the light saber-derivative in hand, the rune on the sixth tower of the Citadel of Endymion began to glow. "Go ahead Rocket Warrior, show that Alchemist what you've got!"

As Rocket Warrior switched into its rocket form, the Light Laser embedded itself in its nose, replacing the needle it usually attacked with. It sped forward, and rushed right through the Alchemist of Black Spells, boring a great hole in its chest. Then that hole grew, until nothing was left of Shou's monster.

"What the…" Shou said to himself as he saw that his monster had just been removed from play; between Rocket Warrior's ability to attack with impunity, Light Laser's effect to remove monster's from play, and Jinzo's ability to negate all traps…and that was when Jinzo attacked directly for 2400 points of damage, the psychic assault blinding Shou for a moment.

"All right Shou, now show me what you've got!" Jounouchi called out as he ended his turn, a confident smile on his face. Shou wasn't surprised by that at all; after all he was one of the legendary duelists, someone who'd stood up to a God Card and nearly won. None of the duelists that Shou had faced in the past could ever match up to that sort of challenge…

"Don't worry, Mr. Jounouchi, I will!" But now he was facing that sort of challenge, and he would rise to meet it! "I summon Apprentice Magician in defense position, activating his effect to add a seventh spell counter to Citadel of Endymion, and then I play Spell Power Grasp to add another two spell counters to Citadel. Finally, I'll set one card to end my turn."

"Set a card?" Jounouchi looked puzzled, but he shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, Yuugi always knew something I didn't, so you probably do to. But still, just in case, I'll go ahead and summon Blue Flame Swordsman onto the field." Aside from the sword being blue instead of red, it was a perfect copy of the Flame Swordsman that had been used extensively in Duelist Kingdom. "Now, Rocket Warrior, attack!"

"Spell card activate, Mystical Space Typhoon!" While the gale force winds weren't enough to knock the Rocket Warrior off course, they were enough to tear off the Light Laser, and with it the ability to remove a monster from play. Thus, Apprentice Magician was merely destroyed, and Shou was able to activate its effect and set another level-2 spell caster on the field.

"And what do you know, you did know something after all." Jounouchi said with a light chuckle. "But you're not out of the woods yet kid." Shou knew that Jounouchi was right; now that he had Blue Flame Swordsman out on the field, he could increase the attack power of any monster at a moments notice, and even if it were destroyed, that would just bring out the original Flame Swordsman. Thus, once Jinzo and and Blue Flame Swordsman had finished their attacks, Shou was left with one desperate gamble of a monster. "And now I'm going to set one card of my own, and end my turn."

An aura of tension spread across the field, the crowd became silent as their breath became still. Shou felt that tension most keenly, felt the weight of it most intensely at the top card of his deck. "My turn." He drew the card, but the tension did not dissipate; the card he needed was yet to be drawn. "I now flip summon my monster, Crystal Seer, to activate her effect." He picked up the top two cards from his deck, and while one of them would prove useful, it still wasn't the right one! He sent one card to the bottom of his deck, and added the other to his hand. "Now I'll activate Magical Dimension, sacrificing Crystal Seer to special summon Royal Magical Library from my hand and destroying Jinzo in the process!"

Jinzo collapsed under the gravity of the arcane power of Shou's spell, and the Citadel grew ever brighter as the Royal Magical Library manifested. "And now, to activate Royal Magical Library's effect, once per turn I can use the spell counters on Citadel of Endymion for another card's effect, so I'll remove three and draw one card." The central tower dimmed and Shou reached for his card. Everything else was in place, everything else was set, all of his dreams as a duelist were resting on this one draw.

And he felt it, the moment when his soul became one with his deck, and awoke its true power. "Now I remove six spell counters from Citadel of Endymion to special summon Divine Magician Deity Endymion!" Lightning crashed down, energy arced over the heads of the crowd, and the arcane ruler of the city stood tall and proud. "And because I summoned him in this fashion, I get to add a spell card from my grave back to my hand, so I once more activate Magical Dimension, sacrificing Royal Magical Library to special summon Crusader of Endymion and destroy Rocket Warrior!"

Crusader of Endymion was an emaciated figure, a fact disguised by the floating pieces of armor connected to his body by arcane rings. He swung his arms out, and unleashed a wave of power that Rocket Warrior could not withstand. "And now I'll use my normal summon to unlock Crusader's true power, and place a spell counter on Citadel to increase his attack power by six hundred points!" The armor contracted around the Crusader's body, becoming his true strength. "And finally, I activate Endymion's own effect, and discard Magical Blast from my hand to destroy Blue Flame Swordsman."

Divine Magician Deity Endymion swung his staff around and created a constricting force that crushed Blue Flame Swordsman into dust. But as the dust was blown away, a bolt of fire crashed into the ground, revealing the Flame Swordsman.

"Damn, that was quite the combo you had going there Shou." Jounouchi said as he rubbed his chin. "With Magician's Circle, you could finish this duel right here and now…trouble is, Yuugi used the exact same strategy against me more than once."

"Well, it's a good thing that I'm not Mr. Mutou, isn't it?" Shou Marufuji said with a confident grin.

"Once you attack, we'll no for sure, kid."

"That's right! With this attack, I'll step out from under all the shadows I've ever been under! I attack with Crusader of Endymion and activate Magician's Circle to special summon Magical Marionette from my deck!" The magician's circle wrapped itself around both duelists, and Magical Marionette appeared just behind Shou Marufuji. And behind Jounouchi…

"See, the problem with that strategy, is that Yuugi gave me a certain card a long, long time ago." Time Wizard, with a meager 500 attack points, warped onto the field, and stood just behind the Flame Swordsman. "And now I can activate my trap card, Valorous Warrior's Final Battle!" Flame Swordsman held his sword up high, and was surrounded by a blinding white aura. "When I control two monsters, and one of them's a warrior, I can double the Warrior's attack power, and make it the only monster you can attack this turn."

Crusader of Endymion summoned forth all his magical power and concentrated it into one fierce blast to tear right through the Flame Swordsman. But the Flame Swordsman sliced right through that magic with his white hot blade, and in one leap slew the Crusader, leaving Shou with just 500 life points.

"Now, while Valorous Warrior's Final Battle will destroy Flame Swordsman during the end phase, once my turn comes up, all I have to do is activate Time Wizard's effect, and I'll win; this is one combo that even Yuugi himself could never surpass, even by chance!"

"Maybe, but now I can prove to you that I am Shou Marufuji, and no one else. I activate my third and final Spell Power Grasp, using it and Magical Marionette's effect to give Magical Marionette two spell counters, and then I remove those two spell counters to destroy your Time Wizard before you have the chance to activate its effect." The tiny little marionette, armed with its knives, cut the Time Wizard apart, leaving behind only its component gears. "And now, Mr. Jounouchi, I end my turn." With that, the Flame Swordsman was consumed by his own power, reduced to less than even ashes.

"…Yep, it might look like it, but you sure don't duel like Yuugi, Shou Marufuji." Jounouchi looked down at the remaining cards in his hand. "So, this is how you want to end this, eh?" He spoke quietly to himself, beneath his breath. "All right, I activate Ancient Rules, and special summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my hand!"

The roar of that ancient beast stunned the crowd, and with its breath it slew the Magical Marionette for 400 points of damage.

"Well, that's it for me this turn. Come on Shou, let's show everyone a great duel!"

"Sure thing, Mr. Jounouchi! I activate the effect of Magical Blast in my grave and return it to my hand in place of drawing a new card, and then I discard it for Endymion's effect to destroy Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Endymion drew upon the power of his citadel, and with waves of that magic he obliterated the dragon that dared to threaten his city. He then attacked directly, leaving Jounouchi with just 1300 life points.

"Yep, that sure was a great duel." Jounouchi said as he looked Shou Marufuji in the eye. "Never expected to find a duelist like you in this place. Kind of reassuring, really." He sighed, and then looked down at his deck. "Well, the only thing I can do at this point is drag the duel out one more turn, and this crowd deserves better than that." With that, Jounouchi placed his hand on his deck, signaling his surrender. "Congratulations Shou, you just managed to beat a living legend!"

Thunderous applause spread throughout the crowd, and as Shou saw all his friends, his teachers, as he saw them all cheer his name, he glowed. Then his eyes passed over Daiki, and while he did applaud, it was forced, mechanical, drowned out in the crowd. But before he could do anything, say anything, Kouyou Hibiki spoke.

"Thank you very much, Shou Marufuji." Kouyou Hibiki stood between the two duelists, in the very center of the crowd. "With the strength of your soul, and the drive to achieve the dream in your heart, you have made it possible for all this to have been worthwhile." Kouyou then turned and pointed to the docks. "Behold, the beginning of the end!"

* * *

Just a short distance from docking was a large boat, one that was able to approach without notice due to the fervent attention given to the duel that had just taken place. It dwarfed Jounouchi and Mai's boat, carrying hundreds easily. "That boat," Kouyou said, drawing the crowds attention back to him, "is carrying my friends from all around the world; they've come here as a favor to me, to participate in the preliminaries."

"Preliminaries?" Kouyou turned to face Principal Samejima, and bowed down before her.

"Yes, and those who pass the preliminaries will have the chance to win a prize that has no equal in this entire world." Kouyou smiled in a precisely calculated fashion, making sure that he had the enmity of Duel Academia focused almost entirely upon him.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I have a small announcement to make; my backlog of pre-written chapters has run out. This means that my update schedule will change; while I'll try to get a chapter out every week, I can no longer make any guarantees. And as always, reviews are always appreciated. I hope that you've enjoyed this story, and will continue to do so into the future. Until then!


	24. Chapter 24

Mai Kujaku, Damn Right!

**Author's Note: **Hello everyone, sorry this chapter took so long, but hey, real life happens, you know? Hopefully this will have been worth the wait, so please enjoy.

* * *

"Thank you all so very much for coming on such short notice." Kouyou Hibiki said as the last of the Pro League Duelists stepped off the boat.

"It's no trouble at all, Kouyou." A tall man with long purple hair said as he clasped his hand onto Kouyou's shoulder in a familiar fashion. "After all those times you've beaten me, it's the least I could do for you."

"Thank you, Gabriel Black." Kouyou Hibiki looked each Pro League duelist in the eye as he walked along, making absolutely sure that each of them would duel with the necessary resolution.

"So." Mai Kujaku called out to him, her tone calculated and cold. "Why did you call all of these duelists here? What are these 'preliminaries' that you mentioned? And why did any of this require you to put your own sister into a coma?"

Kouyou turned to face Mai, and paused to take in the sight of all those who were with her. "I need to explain why I've called all my friends here? I should have to explain why I'd like to see them duel again after so many years?" Kouyou shook his head, and looked away from everyone. "The Preliminaries…are the final test to determine who will have the chance to see their dreams fulfilled. And as to your final question…" Kouyou became silent, and turned to Judai. "You understand, don't you, Judai?"

"I…" Judai's voice halted as it caught in his throat. "I, I think I do."

Kouyou understood Judai's doubt, his fear; he was after all the one who inflicted it upon the boy he thought of as his brother. "Then all you have to do is pass the preliminaries, and all your doubts shall be laid to rest."

"Everyone!" Kouyou suddenly raised his voice, to address everyone all at once. "I have called two hundred of the greatest professional duelists in the world to this island; not a one of them was ever converted to the Association of Light last year, and as such none of you have ever faced anyone like them. The rules are simple; in half an hour, my friends will travel across the island to search for students to duel. If they find you, you must duel them. Forfeiting a match is forbidden, as is one student challenging another, or one Pro challenging another. Furthermore, no member of the faculty may interfere in the proceedings, for all of this is for the sake of the new generation. The Preliminaries will last until the last Professional Duelist has been defeated, at which point those students that have passed, will find out what they've been fighting for."

Silence. "Are there any further questions?" Kouyou said this casually, underscoring the weight of his pronouncement.

"What's in it for them?" Mai Kujaku said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she pointed to the Professional Duelists. "Surely you all have a better reason to be here, than just because this…man…" Scorn laced her use of that word, "requested it of you?"

"I can't speak for the others," Gabriel Black said as stepped forward, towards Mai, "But curiously enough, you," Gabriel said as he emphasized his words, "are my purpose for being here."

"Okay, this ought to be good." Jounouchi said as he stifled a snicker. "No, seriously, dude, go on, I want to hear what you have to say to Mai."

"If I were addressing you, you would know it." Gabriel said with a smile that did not reach his eyes. He returned his attention back to Mai. "The truth of the matter, is that we have met before." Mai raised her eyebrow in doubt. "Heh, don't bother trying to remember, it was more than ten years ago, when I was still just a brat with a brand new Duel Disc strapped to my arm, still going by the name Akira Morioka, when I challenged you to a duel in Battle City." He sighted wistfully at the memory. "I've changed more than just my name since then

"Gabriel, I had no idea." Kouyou said as he shook his friend's shoulder, having had every confidence that this turn of events would take place. "Mai, if you would duel with Gabriel before the preliminaries, I would greatly appreciate it; after all, we've already gotten to see one Legend in action, so why not another?"

"Hmph, straight to the point, aren't you Kouyou." Mai cracked a smile. "But I'll indulge you and your little friend all the same. So just give me a minute, and you'll have your duel."

"Thank you. Thank you very much." Kouyou spoke in a manic tone, yet even so, he paid sufficient attention to his surroundings to notice the departure of Amon Garam and his students, along with one Echo.

* * *

"Since you have all fulfilled the roles that I assigned to you, there is no more need for you to play them out." Amon Garam said to the student's that he'd brought to Duel Academia, students who stared blankly at him. "Cogito ergo sum, return to truth." With that, Amon snapped his fingers, and waited.

Emi Tanaka was the first to respond, her eyes growing ever wider with each passing moment. "You…you…" She stopped, and stared down at her hands, as thought they were covered, slathered in something unspeakable.

"They…they were never real?" Shinji Kato said, producing his medicine from his pocket. "It, it wasn't the Association of Light that did this to me?"

"I'm afraid not." Amon said, with just a touch of…regret? "In your case, the conditioning did not proceed as smoothly as with the others, so it became necessary to procure medication for you. Fortunately, the damage was only mild, so the plan could still proceed apace."

"What?" Hachirou Sasaki said, his eyes filled with a fire that had never been seen in them before. "You can't possibly mean that my hopeless co-dependence, my obsession with Momoe Hamaguchi, that those were what you intended!" He was seething, his blood boiling over as his veins distended on his forehead.

"My plan to create a Dueling Army for you, to unite everyone under a common banner and led by a great leader," Takara Yoshida spoke without emotion, without passion. "You created those desires in me, without any regard for what I wanted before."

"An obsessive drive was what I needed from you, Hachirou, in order to make sure that Momoe had the proper mindset. And Takara, your desires from before I conditioned you were meager; you'd lost nothing of value." Again, there was that vague sense that Amon would have chosen otherwise, and yet he hadn't.

"Well, it's no wonder then, that you knew exactly how to use our theories the way you did." Yuuto Inoue said, taking out his PDA and tossing it aside.

"Yeah, all my talk of self-determination, inner focus, drawing on strength of self…what a farce." Haruka Endo spat out her spite on the ground.

"Indeed, the basic precepts of the theories were already known to me, but your help was needed to make them into a reality." Amon Garam spoke in a tone that suggested that he was trying to be encouraging, to be consoling.

"So, this is what I kept trying to figure out." Daiki Kobayashi glared directly at Amon. "So, why lift the veil now? To get us out of the way, so that you can put yourself on top more easily?"

"No, even you couldn't be that stupid." Rin Ito said as she advanced upon Amon. "Even as skilled and powerful as Echo is, she can't protect you from all of us at once."

"Which is why there is no need for her to do so." Amon said with a smile as he looked to Echo, who responded in like measure. "It is like I said, you no longer need to rigidly adhere to the roles I assigned to you all, but it is entirely up to you whether to abandon them, or to embrace them."

"And why should we believe you now, you charlatan?" Emi Tanaka spoke, having recovered from her shock. "You've already deceived us once, down to our very souls, so why should we ever trust anything you have to say ever again?"

Amon laughed, amused at Emi Tanka's declaration. "The very issue Rene Descartes set out to solve…" Amon took off his glasses, wiped them off. "In the end, even he had to appeal to God and hope that his benevolence would preserve his reasoning. But it is different for you, for all of us here at Duel Academia; if you'll listen, I have a story that should explain what I mean."

The eight duelists looked to each other warily, silently coming to the consensus that they could risk listening to Amon, just a little longer.

"Years ago, when you were still children, I had been abandoned in the desert; do not ask me which one, that is a detail that has been lost in the fog of my memories, as have the faces of my birth parents. What I do remember, as I stared up at the clouds and waited to die, was the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Garam. I was brought into the Garam household to become the son that they were unable to conceive, and Echo was brought in with the intent to be my companion, my playmate, the one who would keep me motivated and on task." Amon sighed wistfully. "Countless were the hours that I'd spent training, studying, becoming the heir that would lead the Garam Group into the future, and I was satisfied with that life, that future before me."

"And then Shido was born." Amon chuckled darkly. "Nobody wasted time trying to mince words; nobody but Echo, at any rate. I was superfluous, unnecessary, reduced to the level of a meager tool."

"So I contemplated murder." He spoke so casually, so carefree about this admission, that it took his audience a moment to grasp what he'd just said. "I stood over his crib, looked at the foul, rancid-smelling infant in it, and thought of how trivially easy it would be to kill it; the fact that I would be caught, the fact that I would lose what little I had left, did not register with me. In my mind, the death of the child was the road to my happiness."

He paused, letting the words sink in. "But Echo was there, and in her glare I saw the truth of myself. Without a word, she stayed my hand, and ever since, she has never needed words to convey her feelings, her thoughts to me." For a moment, an infinitesimal slice of time, Echo looked away. Amon did not notice. "From then on, I contented myself with clearing the path for Shido and to always be supportive of him, to as much as possible take contentment in my bonds with Echo and Shido."

"But even suborned, I still desired the power and prestige that had been promised me, the position of leader, of ruler, of king. Thus, when Kouyou Hibiki appeared to me, and made his offer to me, I made my choice to bring about the truth that I knew I could fulfill." Amon motioned to Echo, and they both turned away. "I now offer you all the same choice. You now stand where I once stood, so will you advance, or retreat?"

With that, he left them behind.

* * *

"Hey, you sure you want to duel this clown?" Jounouchi whispered to Mai as Gabriel Black watched them both. "I mean, it's not like there's any prize money waiting for you when you win."

"Thanks for confidence," Mai said with a wink, "But if you'll just take a quick look around, I think you'll see the real reason why that Kouyou bastard set this up to begin with." Ah, there was the shine of realization in his eyes as he saw the tense posture of the students, the way their eyes were focused on the imminent battle.

Mai then stepped towards Gabriel, and armed her duel disc. "Well Mr. Black, let's see if you can make a stronger impression on me than you did last time, or so you say at any rate." Mai said the last part with a smirk.

"I do indeed, and I most certainly shall. Now," Gabriel Black bowed down in an exaggerated fashion, "ladies go first."

"If that's how you want it." Mai said, not even bothering with rolling her eyes. "I'll start by summoning Amazoness Swordswoman in attack position, and then I'll set one card to end my turn." Standing before Mai was a muscular woman with wild red hair, holding a great sword in one hand.

"How curious; this is exactly how our last duel started. But unlike you, my strategy has grown and changed. Behold; I play Cost Down, discarding a card from my hand to reduce the levels of all my monsters by two, allowing me to summon Cyber Ogre without sacrifice!" The mechanical ogre roared as it swung its arms out, one horn broken. "I'll take damage from your monsters effect, but it'll be worth it to get rid of it! Cyber Ogre, attack Amazoness Swordswoman!" Cyber Ogre ambled over to Amazoness Swordswoman and brought down one mighty claw onto her head. The Amazon warrior brought her sword high to meet the attack, and even as her body broke down, her sword endured, the 400 points of damage sympathetically sent from Cyber Ogre's arm right into Gabriel Black's body.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid you took that damage for nothing." Mai's face-down card activated, and Amazoness Swordswoman climbed up from out of the grave. "Amazoness Willpower requires that I always attack with my monster whenever possible, but I don't think that'll be a problem. Do you?"

"Not at all." Gabriel said, his eyes shining with glee. "I would have been sorely disappointed if you had no new tricks at all. That way, it'll be all the better when I crush them as well!"

"Well, you're a cheeky punk, now aren't you?" Mai sighed in a dramatic fashion of her own. "Honestly, you don't really expect me to believe that you've been holding a grudge all this time, do you? Come on, what are you really playing at?"

"I'm playing at nothing, Mai; for you that duel may have just been a meager stepping stone to the finals, but for me, it was an experience that set the course for the rest of my life." He chuckled grimly. "And with this new deck of mine, my strength will not give out; I discard an equip spell card from my hand to equip Armed Changer to Cyber Ogre. Now, whenever I destroy a monster by battle, I can add a monster from my grave to my hand whose attack power doesn't exceed the equipped monster."

"Well, that's an interesting strategy you've got there." Mai said, her smirk ever so slightly tweaked. "Now you'll be able to use Cyber Ogre's effect without limit. At least, that's how the theory goes. Let's see how it stands up to practice." Mai drew her card to start her turn. "I'll summon Amazoness Sage, and equip Swordswoman with Amazoness Heirloom." Swordswoman was joined by a woman with blue hair, partially tied in a bun. She held a staff in one hand, and in the other she presented a fertility idol to the Swordswoman, who graciously accepted. "When Amazoness Sage attacks, I can destroy one spell or trap card on the field at the end of the damage step, regardless of whether or not she survives the battle. You see where I'm going with this?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do." Gabriel Black spoke with an even tone as he watched Amazoness Sage bring her magic against the Cyber Ogre that so grossly overpowered it. "I discard Cyber Ogre from my hand, negating your attack, and preventing you from reaching the damage step. Not to mention, an increase of two-thousand attack points for Cyber Ogre." The Cyber Ogre roared as energy flooded its being, and Amazoness Sage lost her cool, abandoning her attack.

"And so I've got you right in my trap; honestly, even in my prime it was never this easy." She watched Gabriel's eyes carefully, checking his true temperament. He was still convinced of his victory, she was sure of that. "Amazoness Swordswoman, attack Cyber Ogre!" The clash of steel echoed across the battle field, Amazoness Swordswoman driven by every fiber of her to battle no matter what. Suddenly, the Amazoness Heirloom began to glow, and the swordswoman carved a hole in the Cyber Ogre in one clean slice, and leaped on through, delivering 2400 points of damage directly into Gabriel Black's side.

"Oh, now I get it." Still, he had that smile on his face. "Once per turn, your monster can't be destroyed by battle, and at the end of the damage step, the monster you attacked is destroyed automatically. A clever workaround." A blast of demonic plasma struck Mai Kujaku in the gut. "Not clever enough though." His smile took on a distinctly unseemly aspect. "By destroying Cyber Ogre, you activated the effect of Ogre's Might in my grave; when a level five or lower monster is destroyed and sent to the grave, I can remove it and one other card in my grave from play to deal damage to you equal to that monster's original attack power."

Mai winced as her life points dropped to 2100, but only a moment; after all, she'd faced far worse than that, and weathered that just fine. "Surprising little trick you've developed there, but it'll take more than a surprise cheap shot to win against me. I set one card, and then I activate Amazoness Village to end my turn." The walls of the primitive, ancient village appeared around both duelists. The houses of the village were simple, yet clearly built with martial purpose in mind. Both Amazoness Sage, and Amazoness Swordswoman gained 200 attack points.

"Oh, there's more to my strategy than just that; like I told you before, I'm going to crush every trap and technique you've got, and show you that you're not stronger than me."

"…Oh, did you say something?" Mai spoke in a bored, off-hand manner. "Sorry, but I have a tendency to tune out trite, cliché rants."

"Trust me, there's nothing cliché about this." Gabriel Black kept his cool, but it was clearly an effort. "I activate Twin Strength; since I have exactly two level five or higher monsters in my grave, I get to draw two cards." A decided glint appeared in his eye when he saw his new hand. "And now I'll play Overload Fusion, removing both Cyber Ogres in my grave from play to summon Cyber Ogre Two!" Gargantuan in scale, twin horns that could skewer a boar, it was a monster that was clearly beyond its predecessor. "And now I'll equip it with Cyber Dominance, increasing its attack power by five hundred. Furthermore, when it attacks, it gains half the target's attack power. In summation, when I attack Amazoness Sage, I win." Lines of power glowed as Cyber Ogre 2 took hold of the ground, and drew strength from the Amazoness Sage.

"Trap card activate, Amazoness Spiritualism!" The visage of a withered hag appeared for an instant, and suddenly the souls of the Amazons were torn from their flesh. "I destroy every Amazoness Monster I control, and special summon an equal number of level four or lower Amazoness monsters from my grave in defense position." The Amazons gained new flesh, and now stood in defense of their lady. "Furthermore, once per turn when an Amazoness monster is destroyed and sent to the grave by a card effect or by battle, I can special summon an Amazoness monster from my deck of equal or lower level. Therefore, I'll special summon the level two Amazoness Scouts in defense position." A pair of young girls, barely more than children but still eager to fight, joined their elders sides.

"Summon one or a thousand Amazons…" Gabriel Black chuckled, a touch too gleefully for Mai's taste. "You can't win! Cyber Ogre Two, resume the attack against Amazoness Sage!" Once more Cyber Ogre Two drew upon Amazoness Sage's strength, and as it did, it shot a beam into her that forced her into attack position. "That's right, with Cyber Dominance, I can switch your monster's battle position, which makes it impossible for you to avoid this damage! I win Mai, and with this I will become free of your shadow forever!"

"Interesting, but no." Swift as the wind, the Amazoness Scouts leaped into action; the blue haired one invested the whole of her being into her arrow and shot it into Cyber Ogre Two, while the red haired one gave her life to carve a line in the dirt and invest it with her strength. "By sacrificing Amazoness Scouts, Amazoness monsters I control can't be destroyed by spell, trap, or monster effects, nor can they even be targeted by monster effects. And as I recall, Cyber Ogre Two targets the monster it attacks…" Indeed, Cyber Ogre Two could not draw upon Amazoness Sage's strength, and so while the Amazon was still destroyed, Mai survived with 600 life points. Gabriel Black gaped in shock.

"It really did bug you that badly, didn't it?" Mai had to admit, this was an unexpected turn, but one she would roll with. "Come on, so you didn't get to make it to the Battle City finals; believe you me, you were lucky that you weren't there."

"Hmph, why would I care about the finals? I was total novice back then, I had no expectation of winning, I just wanted to see how far I could get. But the very first duel I got into, my very first real duel, was against you. You crushed me! I summoned my ace card, Wingweaver, and you destroyed it like it was nothing! And just before the duel had even begun, I'd bragged like a complete jackass, in front of everyone I knew, everyone I cared about. A stupid moment of hubris, a careless act of witlessness, and I became utterly alienated. Even after graduation, my 'friends' would still bring it up. So I left, went to America, changed my name, my identity, worked my way carefully up the ranks, so that I could be certain that the next time we dueled, I would win, and live up to my word!"

"And then what?" Mai said as she marched right up to Gabriel Black and grabbed him by the collar. "Do you really think that defeating me would make you feel better about yourself? Please, do you have the slightest idea how many duels I've lost? Trust me, defeating me isn't anything special!"

"Please, you're Mai Kujaku, the Legendary Duelist! Sure, you've lost, who hasn't, but you're still one of the duelists who changed the world. How am I supposed to live with being nothing more than a speed bump to you? If I can't defeat you, how am I supposed to be anything more than Akira Morioka, stupid braggart who's only skill is shoving his foot in his mouth?"

"Hmph, more than ten years and you still haven't figured something like that out?" Mai let him go, and returned to her position. "I'm going to show you something that you can't see, so pay close attention." She took her turn, drew her card. "I sacrifice Amazoness Swordswoman to summon Amazoness Queen!" Gone was the form of Amazoness Swordswoman; in her place stood the queen of the Amazons, her regal bearing matched only by the weight of the blade she casually wielded in one hand. "And now I'll play the permanent spell card Amazoness Fighting Spirit; when an Amazoness monster attacks a monster with greater attack power, the attacking monster gains one thousand attack points." Amazoness Queen caught wind of the Cyber Ogre Two, and became filled with a righteous fury that became a visible aura around her. She leaped high into the air, and brought her sword down on Cyber Ogre Two, cleanly cleaving it in half. The remains exploded, dealing 500 damage to Gabriel. "All right, now show me if you got it. I end my turn."

"Show me? Show me what? That you could have won right then and there, but you decided to extend the duel one more turn? What am I supposed to have…" He fell silent as his gaze was caught in that of Amazoness Queen's. He just stared at it for a time, kept his thoughts to himself. "I set one card, and end my turn."

"Hmm, got an inkling of it, did you? No need to rush it, it took me a while to figure out." She turned her head, and gave a wink to Jounouchi. "Now, I summon Cyber Harpy." The vicious harpy woman, clad in provocative armor, flew down onto the field. "Let's go ahead and finish this."

"Indeed we shall! I activate my trap card, Cyber Shadow Guardna!" A vague shadow appeared before Gabriel Black, and as Amazoness Queen approached it, it took on her form, equaling her strength and power in almost every way. However, as the two battled, it became clear that the real Amazoness Queen would be victorious, her effect that prevented Amazoness monsters from being destroyed by battle seeing her through. Cyber Harpy swooped in for the kill, finishing off Gabriel Black.

"You see that everyone?" Mai Kujaku turned around to address the students of Duel Academia. "Even Pros, even legends, we're all just duelists. No matter how challenging it gets, always persevere, and you'll never have any regrets!" She was greeted by the cheers of the crowd, and the students departed to prepare themselves for the imminent battle.

"Thank you very much, Mai Kujaku." Mai whipped around to face Kouyou Hibiki, and was soon joined by Katsuya Jounouchi. "For a long time I knew that something was deeply bothering my friend. I apologize for the inconvenience I put you through, but it was the only way I could think of to help him."

"Hmph, you have a funny way of showing concern for your friend. Still, you seem to be keeping yourself in check, so we'll just standby and watch for a while."

"You are more then welcome to." Kouyou then went to his friend, and helped him up. He spoke to the rest of the Pros. "Remember everyone, no matter how you feel, you must be merciless; give no quarter, and push them to their limits. If you do your part, I promise you that you will witness a miracle unlike any other this world has ever seen."

* * *

"Wow, would you look at the size of this boat!" The man spoke excitedly as he tied off his far smaller vessel to the docks. "With all these people here on the island, it'll be easy for us to slip in, now won't it?"

"I suppose." Her voice was taciturn. "We'll split up now." She'd already taken off.

"You know," The man muttered to himself, "it'd be nice if you could just say that you cared." He just shrugged his shoulders, and took off for his destination.


	25. Chapter 25

Sudden Arrival of a Big Damn Hero, It's…

**Author's Note: **Ah, got some of that inspiration back, so this chapter was easier to put together. Hope you enjoy.

_**

* * *

**_

"Have I ever told any of you, why I'd first decided to become a school principal?" Principal Samejima said as she stood alongside Professors Chronos, Takuma, and Mizuchi. "The power. The power over young minds, to mold and shape them as I desired, seemed to me the greatest power of all." It felt right to share this with her friends; with all of the students fighting their absolute hardest for the dreams that dwelled in their hearts, not giving in no matter how difficult the opponent, it seemed proper to remember and express the dream that she had back when she was that age. The reality of the position and its responsibilities swiftly quashed that sort of thought, but she could not deny that it had been there.

"Principal Samejima, surely this is some sort of joke." The content of Professor Chronos' response was indeed the sort he would give, but it was lacking the usual bombastic vigor that characterized his outbursts. Part of it was owed to watching yet another Osiris Red duelist fall to a Pro League duelist, but not all. "In all the years that I've known you, that I've worked under you, you have been nothing if not devoted to what is best for your students. True, you've made mistakes, but who among us have not." Chronos chuckled mirthlessly. "I can remember once, years ago, I would have denied one applicant the right to enter Duel Academia simply for being a little late and rubbing me the wrong way. If not for Professor Midori Hibiki's timely intervention, I dare say things would be much worse right now than they would otherwise."

"Indeed, despite our best intentions, it simply isn't possible to see all ends." Takuma Saiou watched as Momiji Todo broke through a devastating lockdown and claimed victory, his third so far. "Even my own power could only show me the future I desired, a vision tainted by my sorrow filled eyes. Were it not for Judai and Asuka, I fear I would have trapped us all in a waking nightmare, far worse than what assails us at present." He remembered how at the time, he'd proclaimed that Judai and Asuka were only able to resist his power by the protection of an unknown third party. Yet, when he watched them split up to fight off as many pros and protect as many students as they could, he knew exactly how far from the truth he was.

"And now we must trust in them, and hope that they are able to learn from our mistakes." In truth, despite everything, despite all that had happened to her and her brother, despite everything that Kouyou and Amon had done between them for their own unknown purposes, the fact of the matter was that Mizuchi felt optimistic. For so long she had looked at the world through a mirror darkly, all that she saw tainted by her own feelings of self loathing and regret…and now, Edo was fighting, dueling to protect the school, not out of duty, but desire.

"That is indeed the fate of all teachers, to hope that their students can exceed them." Principal Samejima said, her smile small but resolute.

* * *

"Judgment Dragon, finish her!" Emi Tanaka yelled out, roaring along with her dragon as she obliterated what remained of her opponent's life points. With that, she turned away from her opponent, not even sparing her a second thought. She had no time to waste on memories like those, on meaningless victories; in becoming aware of how every memory that had driven her was nothing but a lie…

She paused, gripped her fist tight, so tight that she could have drawn blood, had she not reigned her anger in. The tournament that she'd supposedly won, the one that had supposedly drawn Amon Garam's notice, it had never happened. She'd never proven her strength, she'd never demonstrated that she was worthy of drawing out the power of the Lightsworn monsters, she'd simply been molded, altered, conditioned, tampered with until she fit the mold that Amon Garam had chosen for her. And that bastard acted like that ridiculous story he'd told them all was supposed to put them all on even ground, like he regretted what he did to them.

"Bullshit!" She cried out to the sky, the clear sky that encompassed the whole of the world. "He made up everything else, why shouldn't he have just made up that ludicrous self-indulgent while he was at it?" She remembered the look in his eye as he started on his story, and for a moment there was something bizarrely familiar about it. "So he's an actor too. Big fricking whoop." She looked down, away from the sky, down at her hand, and quickly made her way to the next Pro League Duelist. After all, regardless of all the lies, she knew in her heart that her deck, her power, it was real, and she would use it to forge the truth that lay in the dreams of her heart. She would become what she believed she was, and she would do so all on her own, the only one she knew she could count on.

* * *

"Damn…another one?" Asuka said, her breathing becoming heavy; it had been about an hour since the 'preliminaries had begun', and by her estimate, half of the pros had been defeated, while only a third of the students remained too fight. She had just finished defeating her tenth pro, and already another one approached; he was of average height, short brown hair, a simple suit, but it was the eyes that caught her attention. They were the darkest black that she'd ever seen, the kind of dark that absorbed all light everywhere.

"Only another one in the sense that I am a Pro League Duelist like the others. Unlike the others, I am the only number one ranked in Japan. My name is Jurou Kai, and you will duel me, Asuka Tenjouin."

"That's fine," Asuka said, her voice still haggard, her posture still hunched over, "but I insist on a breather."

Jurou shook his head. "The Professional Leagues don't work that way, young lady; we duel for the crowds, at the behest of our sponsors, and the luxury to choose the place and time of our duels is one that is denied to us. This is just a taste of the world that is to come for you, so you don't really have a choice in the matter."

"I'm afraid I can't agree to that." An usual voice called out, drawing both Asuka and Jurou's attention. "The lady says that she wants a break, so she's getting a break." His voice was plainly being distorted, and the heavy billowy robe disguised the speaker's figure so thoroughly that not even gender could be discerned, and over the face was a plain, expressionless mask. "If you really wish to duel, I will serve as substitute."

"You?" Jurou stated, as though responding to the ravings of a madman. "Some student so cowardly that they can't even show their face to their opponent?" He directed the full force of his glare at the unknown student, who flinched not at all. "Eh, this'll only take me a minute. I'll indulge you."

"I rather disagree, but I shall let my deck prove the veracity of my words." The unknown student extended their arms out of their sleeves just enough to reveal their Duel Academia issued Duel Disc, and the gloves that extended up the length of their arms. Jurou Kai armed his duel disc, and the two faced each other silently.

"I wonder…" As Asuka Tenjouin studied the unknown student, she had her suspicions, but hesitated to name them; as of late, the risk of self-delusion was too great to dismiss.

"Go ahead and take the first turn, coward." Jurou Kai declared, his eyes narrowing as he focused their intensity. "Show me the form of your monsters, if you're not afraid to, that is."

"I would advise against insulting an opponent you know nothing about." The unknown student drew their card and looked at it for only an instant. "I summon Vanguard of the Dragon to the field in attack position." A vaguely humanoid draconic figure appeared on the field, its eyeless body appearing poorly suited to its bipedal posture. In one hand it held a spear in reverse grip, and in the other a shield, and it possessed 1700 attack points. "For every dragon card I discard from my hand, Vanguard of the Dragon gains three hundred attack points. I discard four." Vanguard roared as it grew, the muscles bulging against its scales as its attack power grew to 2900. "And now I activate Super Rejuvenation; for every dragon card I've discarded from my hand or sacrificed on my field, I can draw one card during the end phase." In this fashion, the unknown student drew four cards.

"Oh, now this is quaint; a dragon deck that tries to raise one monster's attack power to astronomic heights." Jurou Kai laughed as he held the Vanguard in his sight. "Unfortunately, that is the abject worst type of deck to use against me. For we shall be dueling in the realm of poison where all strength is broken down and brought to ruin, Venom Swamp." An ankle high pool of venom encompassed the field, the sight so visceral that Asuka could swear that she could smell the stench of the venom. "Next, I summon Venom Snake, and activate its effect, adding a Venom Counter to your monster." A snake with a metal barb at the end of its tail arose from out of the swamp, and spat a gob of venom at Vanguard, and while it blocked it with its shield, the venom burned straight through and entered its body. "With Venom Swamp on the field, your monsters will lose five hundred attack points for Venom counter upon them, and during the end phase all monsters aside from Venom monsters will have a Venom counter placed upon them. Furthermore, in the even that this effect reduces your monster's attack power to zero, your monster is destroyed."

"So this is your approach to dueling? Tearing your opponent down until they are too weak to fight back? No wonder you waited for the young lady to be worn down before going after her. Tell me, did you put up your friends to this, or do you even regard them as friends at all?" The undercurrent of venom in the unknown student's voice managed to emerge through the distortion of their voice, and was not lost upon either Jurou or Asuka.

"Heh, you must never have watched a single one of Asuka's duels; trust me, I remember watching the Whim of Fate tournament two years ago, and even then she was a terrifying opponent, alternately freezing her opponents or crushing them with the power of her goddesses. She is no princess, and you are no knight." His eyes held the confidence of one who'd delivered a devastating blow.

"Did I ever imply something so selfish, so self-indulgent a fantasy?" The unknown student was plainly unmoved.

"Oh my, acting strong while hiding yourself so completely. Truly impressive." He said, conveying the sense of rolling his eyes without actually doing so. "I set three cards to end my turn." With that, the venom of the swamp seeped into Vanguard's skin, burning away its flesh where it could reach.

"Very well. I start my turn by activating Magical Stone Excavation, discarding two cards to return a spell card in my grave to my hand. Thus, I recover and play Super Rejuvination once more. Now I discard two more dragons, raising its attack power to twenty-five hundred." Vitality rushed through Vanguard's being, momentarily healing the damage dealt by the swamp. "Vanguard of the Dargon, attack Venom Snake!"

Vanguard leaped forward and pinned the snake down with its spear, and opened its mouth to breath red hot fire, destroying it for 1300 points of damage.

"And with that blind rush while your strength yet held out, you've sealed your hope of victory. Trap Card activate, Damage Equals Reptile!" The venom of the swamp bulged and coiled, writhed and twisted. "When I take battle damage in a battle that involves a reptile monster I control, I can special summon a reptile monster from my deck whose attack power does not exceed the battle damage I just took. Thus, I claim my guarantied summon, the zero attack power Venominon the King of Snakes!" The venom exploded out, revealing a giant snake like creature in regal attire, a vaguely human face and snakes for arms. "But he won't be around for long, for now I activate my next trap card, Offering to the Snake Deity." Venominon's body became consumed with flame, which spread out to Vanguard of the Dragon. "I destroy one reptile monster I control, and up to two cards my opponent controls. A pity you didn't summon a second monster, not that it would have changed anything." With that, the fire grew to white-hot intensity, and both monsters were burned to less than ash. "And with that, my final trap card, Rise of the Snake Deity; when Venominon is destroyed, I special summon Vennominaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes.

From the ashes of Venominon's demise, emerged a new, far more powerful monster, the ontological ultimate of what it was to be a snake.

"And now I shall activate Vanguard of the Dragon's effect." Brilliant light shined out from the unknown duelist's grave. "When Vanguard is destroyed and sent to the grave by a card effect, I special summon a Normal Dragon-type monster from either grave." The unknown student paused.

"You would, wouldn't you?" Asuka now felt fully recovered, and had absolute confidence in what she believed she saw. The unknown student did not respond to her statement, as though acting according to a pre-set script.

"The dragon I choose is one that knows the darkness, that understands its temptations. It is a dragon that knows the all-importance of hope, and to always protect those that call upon it. It is a dragon that no matter what change it may undergo, shall always be the true monster of my soul, the monster that Katsuya Jounouchi fought his best friend for, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" As the dragon rushed out of the grave, the unknown student reached at their collar, and pressed some hidden button that caused the whole of their elaborate disguise to fall apart.

"Fubuki!" In an instant Asuka closed the distance between them and embraced her brother. Stifling her tears, she looked up into his eyes. His scars were still present, though faded, but she paid them no mind. "You couldn't help making such a dramatic appearance, could you?"

"Heh, are you kidding me? It took everything I had to convince Ryoko to come back here discretely, so that Shou would be the first to see her."

"Fubuki?" Jurou Kai said, his face twisted in consternation. "You're not even a student here, you have no right to be participating in this event."

"Indeed, my attire is not that of a student of Duel Academia." He motioned toward the outfit he wore, a flamboyant red and blue suit. "Yet, I am still a student of life and love in all their myriad aspects, always ready and ever eager to learn more and more. But more to the point, you failed to respect the wishes of my younger sister. One should be respectful of the wishes of everyone, especially women, more especially beautiful women, and most especially my beloved Asuka. You are someone I can't forgive, not now and not ever!"

"Big talk for a farcical clown. I was wrong to call you a knight before, you are the court jester who's perpetual ineptitude entertains us all. Go ahead, attack; right now, Vennominaga only has one thousand attack points, five hundred for each reptile in my grave. Furthermore, Vennominaga is immune to all spell, trap, and monster effects, so it's a good thing you summoned a stronger monster when you did, isn't it?"

"You certainly wish for me to play along with your strategy, don't you?" Fubuki shrugged his shoulders. "Very well, I shall dance to your tune. Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Dark Mega Flare!" The concentrated ball of fire, black as night, burned away at Venominaga's scales for 1400 points of damage.

"And now I activate Vennominaga's effect; when destroyed by battle, I can remove one reptile in my grave to special summon it back to the field." Venominaga's scales grew back, resembling those of Venom Snake's. "And now, during your end phase, Venom Swamp will cripple your dragon." The venom leaped up and targeted Red-Eyes' wings, grounding it.

"And now I apply the effect of Super Rejuvenation, drawing a card for every Dragon card I discarded this turn. So that makes two that I discarded for Vanguard's effect, and two more for the activation of Magical Stone of Excavation." Thus, Fubuki acquired four more cards for his hand.

"Hemorrhaging through our deck, are we? Desperately rushing through it gracelessly in the desperate hope of acquiring the cards you need?" For a brief instant, Jurou Kai's eyes resembled that of the deity that he summoned. "Useless, as compared to the precise and calculated power that I wield."

"Ah, you're sure you're not speaking prematurely then?" Fubuki spoke with just a hint of ice to his voice. "After all, if you lose, wouldn't that mean that you were wrong, that I was operating on a plan that you simply couldn't see?"

"That's only if I lose, and there's no world in which a perpetual failure like you, one who time and again is defeated by his own best friend despite being regarded by all as an equal to that friend." Jurou Kai drew his card. "Now, I activate Snake Rain, discarding Venom Boa from my hand to send four reptile monsters from my deck to the grave. Thus, with five new reptiles in the grave, Venominaga's attack power increased to 3000. "Venominaga, Absolute Venom" Venominaga whipped its great snake arms out and had them bite down on the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. They pumped its body so full of venom that it dissolved on the spot, not even the bones surviving. "But more important than the eleven-hundred points of damage you took, is Venominaga's final effect; upon dealing battle damage, the opponent is infected with a fatal venom, a hyper-venom, if you will." A phantasm of a snake bit down Fubuki's throat, the pain most visceral. "In three turns, counting this one, you will automatically lose. Strictly speaking, you won't actually die, but with yet another failure on your conscience, you may as well."

"Now there's a miserable view of life; no passion for yourself or those around you, no belief in control over your own fate, just endlessly tearing down all those around you. Please, assure me that I'm wrong, that your duel is not as indicative of your true nature as it seems to be." Asuka could hear it; in spite of himself and his proclamation that he would never forgive Jurou, Fubuki was still trying to reach out to him.

"As though I should waste my time defending myself from the likes of you. I end my turn, clown."

"Let it not be said that I did not try." Fubuki's voice became absolutely cold. "I activate Card Destruction, causing us both to discard our hands and draw an equal number of cards. Of course, you have no cards, so you can't use this effect." Fubuki looked over his new hand. "I set two cards, and end my turn, activating the effect of Red-Eyes Wyvern in my grave; so long as I didn't perform a normal summon, by removing Wyvern from play I can special summon a Red-Eyes monster from my grave. Return, and face the enemy head on, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" As Red-Eyes emerged from the muck and the poison of the swamp, its form was tainted by the venom.

"In attack position? What feebleminded point do you imagine you're trying to make?" Jurou Kai's eyes narrowed until they became slits.

"It is a point that will become clear on my next turn, my final turn."

"At least you said one sensible thing, but it'll take more than that to save yourself; since I control a Venom monster, I activate Venom Shot, sending another Reptile monster from my deck to the grave to add two venom counters to your monster." Venominaga grew even stronger, while Red-Eyes was could barely lift itself off the ground. "Venominaga, Absolute Venom." It hardly took any effort at all for it to destroy the crippled dragon, and Fubuki was left with just 300 life points.

"Trap card activate, Red-Eyes Spirit; when a Red-Eyes monster is destroyed, I can special summon it back from the grave, regardless of summoning conditions." Once more the dragon roared. "And now I'll activate my spell card, Burial From a Different Dimension, returning up to three removed from play cards back to their respective graves; I choose my Red-Eyes Wyvern, and your Venom Snake." With that, Venominaga's attack power increased to 4000.

"What the hell are you aiming at?" Jurou stared openly at Fubuki, whose features were unflappable. "Why would you increase my monster's attack power?"

"This will become absolutely clear in just a moment." Fubuki drew his card. "Now, I sacrifice Red-Eyes Black Dragon to special summon Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!" Red-Eyes was filled with energy as dark as the night itself, and with that it mutated into the strange form of the Darkness Dragon. "Now, in place of performing a normal summon, I activate Dragon Heart, sending three Dragon cards from my deck to the grave to increase Darkness Dragon's attack power by one thousand. Now, answer me this; how many dragons are in my grave?"

Jurou Kai's eyes became unfocused as he stared at the towering form of the Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon as the myriad spirits of Fubuki's dragons joined with it, faster then he could count.

"The answer, is sixteen. Between the effect of Dragon Heart and Darkness Dragon's own effect, that gives my monster an attack power of eighty-two hundred." So powerful was its roar, it seemed as though Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon had banished all the venom of the swamp. "To answer your questions now, I wanted to demonstrate to you the absolute difference between us; that even when I limit myself, and raise you up, my power, power that was forged from fires that you could never imagine in your darkest nightmares, will exceed yours absolutely." Fubuki swept his arms out, and called to his monster. "Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, I beckon you; take all the darkness, all the pain that I and my dragons have suffered, and use our strength to banish this cur from my sights! Darkness Giga Flame!"

Fire that absorbed all enveloped both Venominaga and Jurou Kai, fire he couldn't have hoped to endure even with all his strength, even at maximum life points. By the time it was over, Jurou Kai was flat on the ground, passed out.

"Sorry to steal your thunder like that Asuka." Fubuki said as he rejoined her. "I just couldn't resist that temptation."

"It's okay Fubuki," Asuka said with a smile she hadn't used in two years. "So, you want me to tell you what's going on here?"

"Yes, please."


	26. Chapter 26

Ryoko's True Power

* * *

"Elemental Hero Earth, attack directly!" Earth, having absorbed the strength of Absolute Zero and using that power to wipe the field clean of enemy monsters, found no opposition. It's attack was more than sufficient to obliterate his opponent's life points, and Judai dashed past her. "Sorry to end that so quickly, but I'm in a hurry!" He really was sorry; she seemed like a good person, and her deck had some interesting looking monsters, but he just simply didn't have time to enjoy any of that. He didn't have any time for fun, he had to defeat as many Pro League Duelists as he could, make sure as many students as possible made it to the next stage of Kouyou's game…he shook his head, and kept running, kept moving, kept searching for his next enemy, not wanting to stop to think. He'd been doing too much of that, he'd wasted too much time sitting and waiting and watching as all the rest of his friends picked up the slack, but now he could act, now he could do something to help save Midori, bring her back to normal, make everything right again, save the day again, just like always…

"Judai, are you okay?" Judai barely kept himself from barreling past Rei Saotome, who was just staring at him. Suddenly, she hit herself in the arm. "Stupid question, of course you're not okay, Kouyou and Amon are toying with us, using Professor Hibiki's condition to make us all play along with their sick game, not caring who they hurt along the way." The scowl on her face was so unlike her; the closest that Judai could think of was her expression when she set out to confront her cousin in the previous year.

"I…" Judai stammered, something he couldn't ever remember doing. "I'm sorry, but I can't talk about this right now." Judai resumed running, and before long found another Pro League Duelist, about to confront another student. He rushed in, interposing himself between the two of them.

"You're going to have to get through me first, pal!" Judai said as he armed his duel disc.

"That's fine by me, kid." The pro said as he shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like there are that many of you left by this point." The pro casually pointed over Judai's shoulder, and when Judai looked, he saw that his fellow student, a first year Osiris Red, had been ambushed by another Pro. "Come on kid, give me a duel that'll make all this worthwhile." He spoke with a tone of sheer boredom, utter displacement from what was happening all around him.

"All right, but don't get mad if you don't like what you get!" Judai spoke, but he saw not his opponent; all he could see was what laid at the end of his path, the hope for Midori's return.

* * *

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Haruka Endo." Daichi Misawa looked across the path to the Ra Yellow girl he had briefly collaborated with. "Tell me, did you really have something to do with what happened at Kaiba Corp? If so, did our collaboration help you with that, or was it incidental?"

"I did, and you did, but only in the fashion of puppets on strings." Gone was the casual self-assurance, the forceful assertiveness. "Amon Garam revealed the truth to us about what he did to us, that we've merely been playing out the roles he set out for us. The worst part is that there where moments in that mission when Yuuto Inoue and I should have realized what was really going on, but we didn't, because he didn't want us to."

"I see…" Truth be told, Misawa had wondered how long Amon Garam planned on maintaining his control, his deception over the student's he'd sponsored. "You're still around, still participating in these games of Kouyou Hibiki's. You obviously have something that you're still fighting for."

"Not as such." Haruka looked up to the sky, up at the stars. "Have you ever really looked at the stars, thought about how vast and huge they are, spread out across space over distances you can't even hope to comprehend?" She looked down again, back at Misawa. "Rather then try to change the world, I'll just settle for changing myself into someone with some real conviction."

"That's a good place to start, but I don't think the self and the world are mutually exclusive like that."

"We'll just have to see, won't we, Misawa?" Haruka turned to walk away, but paused. "I can't help but wish that what drove our collaboration had been real, even with everything that came of it." And with that, she walked away.

"I understand exactly what you mean." And with that, Misawa departed to reunite with Momiji, to share with him what he'd just learned.

* * *

"I'm sorry, sister, I don't think I'm going to make it after all." Shou said beneath his breath, cornered by five Pro League Duelists. The rush from his victory against Katsuya Jounouchi, from seeing Mai Kujaku best Gabriel Black, had long since faded. His last few victories were too close for comfort, and now…

"Come on kid, decide who you're going to duel." It was Nana Arai who said that, and down the line to her left were Alexandra Goguniv, Valdemar Ortega, Fenyang Knowles, and Valerie Sullivan, all high ranking duelists from all around the world.

"I…I…" Shou tried to focus, tried to think of an order to his opponents he could pick that could allow him to win, but no matter how he tried it was no good; he was going to lose here, he was going to be defeated and lose his chance to help everyone save Professor Hibiki and stop Kouyou and Amon, and what would it matter then that he'd finally made it into Obelisk Blue?

"Shou, you are tired. You need to rest, now." At first, Shou thought he'd imagined it, thought it was just like last year when her memory supported him against the assault by the Association of Light, but then he felt her hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see her face.

"Kaiser Ryoko!" Shou grabbed hold of her as the tears streamed down his face, only vaguely aware at the shock on the face of the Pro League Duelists.

"No, I am only Ryoko Marufuji, and you are my pride." She gently pushed him back away from her, and turned to face the Pro League Duelists. "I've taken the time to learn what's going on around here. I've no intent of participating in whatever Kouyou has planned after these preliminaries of his, but as far as I'm concerned Shou has earned his passage there. I will clear the way for him, here and now.

"Kaiser Ryoko?" Valerie Sullivan said as she stared at the woman before her, barely any resemblance between her and the boy she was protecting. "Ah, you used to be a student here, before that incident two years ago where you went mad and tried to kill everyone on the island, or something like that. The rumors are a bit contrary on just what exactly happened, but they all agree that you lost."

"Yes, I did. Defeat was something I always believed myself to be above, and my hubris nearly cost me everything. But now my pride has been tempered by reality, and I shall not fall to such darkness again."

"While this is very interesting no doubt, you are getting in the way of Kouyou Hibiki's plans, and that is not something I'm prepared to tolerate." Valdemar Ortega stepped forward and armed his duel disc as he spoke. "Not after everything he's done for me."

"Only you?" Ryoko shook her head, and Shou's eyes grew wide with shock. She couldn't possibly be…no, that look in her eyes, she was. "I wish to have the chance to speak with my little brother at the earliest opportunity, so I will face you all at once." They all stared at her for a moment.

"And what, pray tell, will your handicap be?" Fenyang Knowles said with an amused chuckle. "Shall you start with twenty-thousand life points? Be allowed to summon high level monsters without sacrifice? Draw fifteen cards on your first turn? Take extra turns as compared to us? Come now, you obviously have something in mind."

"No such limitation at all." Ryoko's cool demeanor was utterly unlike any Shou had seen before, utterly unlike the sister he'd known all his life. "In fact, I'll give you a slight advantage; I'll take the first turn, and then each of you will be allowed to attack on your first turn. Surely under such circumstances, it should be nigh-impossible for you all to lose."

"You obviously have some sort of strategy in mind to turn our numbers against us, that much is obvious." Alexandra Goguniv said, her voice lilting and light. "But I know I'll take that challenge, rather then be called a coward forever after, for all eternity." She armed her duel disc, and was joined by the rest of her peers.

"Now that it has begun," Ryoko said, drawing her hand, "I will be the one to finish this." The wind howled all around as she drew her next card. "I activate Dark Magic Curtain, paying half my life points to special summon from my deck, Dark Magician!" Waves of magical energy, the weight of darkness, the Dark Magician drew upon all this to answer the call of its master. "And now I shall set two cards to end my turn."

"Summoned your ace already?" Nana Arai spoke with a smirk. "A shame its such a derelict and out of date Ace. Allow me to show you what the power of true Pro is like!" As she drew her card, the wispy clouds in the sky were seemingly whipped into a frenzy. "I summon Cloudian Turbulance to the field." A vaguely humanoid cloud appeared on the field, its structure hollow. "When summoned, I can add a Fog counter to it for every Cloudian monster I control." Turbulance's being seemed to billow out a bit. "And by removing that Fog counter, I can special summon a Cloudian Smoke Ball from my deck or grave." Turbulance condensed it self, and from within it spat out a childlike cloud. "Next, by playing Fog Control, I sacrifice Smoke Ball to place three fog counters upon Turbulance, which I use to bring back the first Smoke Ball and special summon two more from my deck." The field had become thick with smoky fog, enough to trick the mind into thinking that it was difficult to breathe. "And now, by playing Double Summon, I can sacrifice all four of my Water Attribute monsters to summon Cloudian Nimbusman!"

It started small. But as more and more of the Cloudians gave up their existence, it became a huge, towering presence, a thundercloud that could suspend the world in eternal darkness. "For every Water Attribute monster sacrificed for its summon, I place one fog counter upon it, and for every fog counter on the field, it gains five hundred attack points. Thus, it has three thousand, and it can't be destroyed in battle." Nimbusman flowed towards its target, the Dark Magician.

"Permanent Trap Card activate, Bear the Cross." A cross of energy appeared between the Dark Magician and Nimbusman. "When I control a Dark Magician, by sending a level seven or higher spell caster from my deck to the grave, I can negate any attack or card effect that targets the Dark Magician." The cross became a barrier that not even the Nimbusman could flow past. "Furthermore, so long as it is on the field, I can't special summon any monsters in my grave."

"Oh, so that's how you were planning on hold us all back, is it? But it's power can't hold out, while my power can only grow. Behold, the permanent spell card, Cloudian Squall." Thick clouds gathered just above Nana Arai. "During my standby phase, I can place one fog counter on every monster on the field, increasing Nimbusman's attack power many times over. I end my turn."

"Hmm, now this'll be interesting, most interesting indeed." Alexandra Goguniv said as she stroked her chin. "But I think you'll find Fire a bit more of a challenge to endure, a great challenge indeed." As she drew her card, the atmosphere grew warmer, and Shou realized how unnatural this all was; this was beyond what the Solid Vision system should have been capable of, so what was behind this, and why did it only start now, when his sister started dueling? "First, I activate Choice Embers, removing two fire attribute monsters in my hand from play to add two fire attribute monsters from my deck to my hand of equal level. Next, I discard those two monsters, both Volcanic Rockets, to add Blaze Accelerator and Tri-Blaze Accelerator from my deck to my hand. Now, I activate Blaze Accelerator and send it to the grave to activate Tri-Blaze Accelerator, and send that to the grave as well to special summon Volcanic Devil!"

Fire like a storm enveloped the field, and in the blink of an eye that fire condensed itself into a form befitting the name Devil. Even so, as it attacked, its heat could not breach the barrier of the cross. "Again, you've bought yourself only a slight amount of time for now. For when your turn comes, your monster will be compelled to attack, a moth to the flames, and all other monsters you control will be destroyed as well. I end my turn."

"And now it's my turn to show off my Ace, I suppose?" Valdemar Ortega said, not quite able to hide his awe at the swift summoning of so many powerful monsters. "My summon shall be straightforward, the better to remove you from the field and resume the request that Kouyou Hibiki asked of us; by sending Alpha, Beta, and Gamma the Magnet Warriors from my hand to the grave, I special summon Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!" Electromagnetic energy ran across the ground, tearing up the dirt as it all joined together to forge Valkyrion. "And now I shall play Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy your trap card!" Wind sharp as a knife sought out the Cross…

"Trap card activate, Spell Jammer." Ryoko discarded a card, and with that the wind became as feeble as a sigh.

"Even so, I shall still wear down your trap!" Valkyrion struck, another magician gave their life for the cross, and the Dark Magician yet survived. "And now I'll go ahead, and end my turn."

"And with this, I'll show even here how to deal with a permanent trap like that." The stars seemed to grow brighter, luminous. "First, I activate the Ritual Spell card Total Eclipse, using Ritual Raven as the entire sacrifice through its effect to Ritual Summon the Level Seven Star Shadow." For a moment, all light seemed to be blot out, but it returned, drawn into a form like a sea of stars. "Once per turn, I can add one monster card from my deck to my hand, and now I sacrifice my level seven Star Shadow to special summon Plasma Warrior Atom!" An explosion rocked the field, and once he could see again, Shou saw a huge robotic warrior. "By reducing its attack power by half, Plasma Warrior Atom can attack directly, a circumstance your trap can do nothing about!" Like lightning it struck, its reach extending beyond the limits of the cross, and down it came like a hammer, crashing down upon Ryoko directly, leaving her with just 500 life points. "There. I end my turn."

"I suppose I ought to round things off, oughtn't I?" As Velerie spoke, the scent of roses crossed Shou's mind. "First, I'll go ahead and play Seed of Decpetion to special summon Nettles from my hand. Then, I sacrifice it to summon Cruel Angel Queen of Rose through it's own effect, and equip her with Thorn of Malice!" The bloom of roses, vines thick with thorns, all this adorned the angel of the earth, the messenger of death, now armed with 3000 attack points. Still, even her roots could find no purchase within the domain guarded by Ryoko's cross. "In the event that we reach my standby phase, Cruel Angel will destroy whichever monster on the field has the lowest attack power. Between all five of us, you're cornered, Ryoko. I would've thought that you'd learned humility in your absence, but I suppose I was wrong. I end my turn."

"Indeed, I'm in quite the bind." Ryoko looked up at the five monsters that towered over her, over her Dark Magician. "Theoretically, the Dark Magician could defeat one of you, but not all." Silence, the Pros looked satisfied by Ryoko's concession. "Fortunately, my Ace will be more than sufficient to this task." All present stared, but none more so than Shou. "I sacrifice my Dark Magician, to summon the Dark Magician Girl." It was a simple pronouncement, expressed casually, yet it was more then enough to rock Shou Marufuji's world.

"But…you never…" As the Dark Magician Girl took form, inherited the power of her predecessor, shattered the Cross that so many before her had borne to bring her here and now, Shou remembered how in all the years that she'd been dueling, Ryoko had never once summoned that monster.

"The weakness of my heart." Ryoko said, speaking to Shou without facing him. "I dismissed the power of Dark Magician's heir, for no better reason than the seeming of her form. I scorned her appearance, believed that no matter what her strength she could only drag me down into contempt, disrespect. These were the lies that were created for me, the lies that I embraced, the lies that kept me terrified of defeat and have held me back all my life." Ryoko looked to the Dark Magician Girl, and the Dark Magician Girl looked at her in turn. "I will not allow myself to be ashamed anymore. I shall not be limited by whatever preconceptions are put before me. I shall embrace my strength and my soul, and fear not their shape at all! I sacrifice Dark Magician Girl to summon Dark Magician Woman!"

The change was subtle, nuanced. A slight maturation, a tweak here and there in her outfit, but the eyes remained the same, even as the Dark Magician Girl became the Dark Magician Woman. "Once per turn, Dark Magician Girl can remove from play one spell card in my grave to either allow me to draw one card, or recover one thousand life points. I remove Dark Magic Curtain to recover one thousand life points." Energy suffused Ryoko's being. "And now, for every spell caster in my grave, Dark Magician Woman gains one thousand attack points until the end phase." She held her staff up high, and drew upon the strength of the seven who had paved the way for her, drew upon their power to honor their legacy, her attack power rising to 9000. "And now, at the cost of one thousand life points, I activate Diffusion Wave Motion, allowing Dark Magician Woman to attack every monster on the field once each!"

A moment frozen in time, Shou would never forget this moment. As he watched Dark Magician Woman's attack tear through all her enemies, obliterate her opponent's life points, he knew in his heart that he was seeing the sister that he always knew was deep down inside her, the sister he'd always been so proud of.

"Shou." Ryoko had turned away from the enemies she'd just defeated, and looked down at Shou. "You've grown a lot since I last saw you. You'll have to tell me all about it."

"Yes." Shou wiped a tear from his eye. "Absolutely."

* * *

"Thank you everyone, and congratulations to all those who've passed the preliminaries." Kouyou Hibiki had felt the exact moment when Ryoko Marufuji had defeated the final five remaining Pro League Duelists, and so he made the announcement he'd prepared for this moment. He spoke directly to the minds of the victorious duelists, those students who'd become closest to where he was in the dueling world out of everyone. "If you'll all come to the front of the school, I will tell you all exactly what awaits you, and of the glorious prize you've earned the right to fight for." Kouyou fell silent, and looked down at the card in his hand.

"In spite of everything I've seen you do," Amon Garam said, a curious look on his face as he too looked down at Kouyou's card, "There is still that part of me that doubts what you say of that card."

"Don't worry Amon; when Echo returns to you, she can assure you very much that this card is everything that I've promised you, and more."


	27. Chapter 27

The Time Has Come, Another Truth Revealed

* * *

"Thank you all for coming so quickly." Echo listened to Kouyou Hibiki, but looked to Amon, his confidence reinforcing hers. She took a moment to note that Judai, Asuka, and all their friends had made it, as had the unfortunate duelists that Amon had tampered with, and then focused her attention back to Kouyou. "Before I begin, I have something that I wish to show you." With that, he showed them all the card, the card that Echo had been fighting for all this time, the card with which she could make all her dreams come true.

"Elemental Hero…Heaven?" Judai said quizzically, clearly uncomprehending of he beheld.

"What?" Manjoume said, his head tilted at Judai in bewilderment. "How could you confuse Bahamut for that made up card?"

"No…" Asuka shook her head. "Cyber God Kagutsuchi, that's not a real card, and yet…"

"The Primal Wolf…" Daiki Kobayashi spoke in reverent awe as he stared at the card.

"Number Zero, that can't possibly be right." Haruka Endo looked to Misawa for a moment, but thought better of it.

"Yes, as you have noticed by now, not only are you all seeing cards that do not exist, you are each seeing a different card, a very particular card." Kouyou paused, allowed his words to sink in. An effort entirely unnecessary for Echo. She already knew everything. "In truth, this card is blank, its name and form yet to be decided. But unlike any random blank piece of cardboard, I have used this card to gather up the power of countless souls, power that has been released over the course of countless duels all over the world, but most of all here, at Duel Academia."

"Daitokuji's experiments, Takuma and Mizuchi Saiou's Association of Light," Daichi Misawa spoke firmly, uncompromising. "You took advantage of these events, but it still wasn't enough, was it?" Even as he spoke, his eyes yet wavered to the card in Kouyou's hand.

"That is very true, Daichi Misawa." For a moment, a distinctly sorrowful expression crossed Kouyou's face. "Despite all that took place on this island over the past two years, the power that was gathered was not yet sufficient. Time was short, and I knew that the peace of the third year would not provide me with the power necessary, so I decided to take action."

"As you all might have guessed, that action was to contact me in a dream." Amon Garam spoke with pride in his heart. "He chose me, gave me certain guidelines, and left the details to me. He wanted eight duelists with which to challenge Judai and his friends, but rather than waste time looking for them, I simply created them, and in the process increased the power available to the Garam group most considerably. He asked that I eliminate Daitokuji, and I opted to target Kaiba Corp itself, in the hopes of acquiring its wealth and power. In everything that I've done here, it has been at Kouyou's behest, and why not? After all, what better incentive is there, then the promise of the power and knowledge of a God?"

"A God?" Emi Tanaka shouted out before anyone else could register a response. "You? A God? That card…" She stared at it, intently, as though trying to burn holes through it. "It can't be, it can't!"

"It is as my associate said." Kouyou Hibiki spoke, unfazed by Emi Tanaka's outburst. "This is a God Card, one who's final shape and name will be decided by the duelist who can claim it, the duelist who has bested every opponent before them and can impress upon it the name of their ideal God. That duelist shall become the new Duel King, and sit in the throne that has been left empty for the last ten years. This, is what all your trials have been preparing you for, your trials of shadow, light, and heart."

Silence, and then Momiji spoke. "Excuse my skepticism, Kouyou Hibiki, but how can you have possibly created a new God card? How could such a thing even be possible? Regardless of how many cards are given the names of various deities, only the God Cards created by Pegasus himself draw upon the divine."

"But what is the divine?" Kouyou spoke with a knowing smile. "You presume that the line between the divine and the mortal is inviolate, never to be crossed, but the Ancient Egyptians certainly didn't, believing as they did that the Pharaoh was the god who walked among them and upheld the principles of Ma'at. The difference is one of degree, not kind. The same holds for the difference between commoners and kings, even among duelists."

"Duel King?" Edo Phoenix mused. "That's right, even you never achieved that title, Three-Year World Champion. Now you intend to change that, for us?" Again, that same tone of skepticism that Momiji used.

Kouyou smiled. "Even though Yuugi Mutou hasn't participated in an official tournament since Battle City, no one could approach the throne and fail to feel unworthy of it. In our hearts, we knew that none of our accomplishments could measure up to the trials that Yuugi Mutou and the other Legendary Duelists faced, and so we turned away from the title that we all aspired to. But I've changed all that; come tomorrow, for one glorious day, this Duel Academia shall become the new Duelist Kingdom, and the one who stands at the top, newly awakened God Card *in hand, shall be every bit the equal to Yuugi Mutou himself."

Echo watched as everyone was stunned into silence, the full weight of Kouyou Hibiki's pronouncement descending upon them all. "You're really serious about all this?" Rei Saotome said, her tone utterly bewildered. "Why wouldn't you just take the card for yourself, make yourself the new Duel King and use it's power to fulfill your dreams?"

Kouyou's smile only grew. "Unfortunately, the dreams that dwell in my heart are far too small and petty to fulfill the ambition of this card and the power that has suffused it. Besides, this is the power that belongs to the future, to your generation. All I can do is pave the way for you all."

"Really?" Junko Makita glanced over to Takara Yoshida, who pointedly looked away. "I hate to say this, but my dreams aren't that grand."

Kouyou shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? Whatever doubts you may voice to me or to yourself, your presence here is proof enough that your heart yearns for a miracle that can change the world."

"So what now?" Momoe Hamaguchi looked unflinching into Kouyou's eyes. "What are the rules for this Duelist Kingdom of yours? Certainly not another free-for-all like what we just went through, right?"

"Of course not. Come dawn, I shall pair you off as I see fit and send you to different parts of the island to duel one another. Once all those duels are completed, I shall repeat the process, and when only one duelist remains, they will have earned the right to face me. If victorious, you will claim the God Card from me, and name it, making its power permanent and real. At that point, the victor shall make his dreams into reality." Kouyou paused, worked his hand for a moment. "There are a few more rules to go over, but those can wait for the morning. For now, I shall thank my friends for having gone out of their way to help me, and retire for what remains of the evening." Kouyou put the card away, and made his way back to the shore. No one dared to interfere in his passage, not a one able to risk losing the chance for the nameless God Card.

"And with all of that taken care of, it is time for us to retire as well, Echo." Amon had walked up to her, extended his hand to her, and she reached out to him in turn. Yes, it would only be one more night, and then all her dreams, all their dreams, would come true.

"Hold it." Echo turned to face her, to face Asuka Tenjouin. "Manjoume told me what you said to him at the Manjoume Group headquarters. You told him that you'd always followed Amon, that you would always follow him. But in making it here, you've proven that you don't need to follow him, you don't need him for anything at all. So why would you follow a man who casually ruins the lives of others, simply to further his own ambitions? What could he have possibly done for you, that you would overlook all that?" As Asuka spoke, her face was frozen in an expression of righteous indignation; she truly was trying to reach out to her.

A wasted effort. "If you had listened to me, done as I'd advised you to, you would understand. Love knows no need, requires no kindness; it is unprompted, and only ever giving. Still, even though you do not yet understand this, you may yet prove a worthy opponent, Asuka Tenjouin." Her silence was all the response Echo desired or needed, and so she departed with Amon.

* * *

"I guess I can understand why Kouyou Hibiki feels he has to continue to play the part of the villain." Fubuki Tenjouin mused to himself, breaking the silence that had formed after Kouyou, Amon, and Echo's departure. "But setting that aside for the moment," and at that point Fubuki assumed a rather amused expression as he wrapped his arm around Asuka's shoulder, "There's no doubt in my mind that my goddess of a younger sister will be the win the God Card!"

"Fubuki!" Asuka yelled, blushing intensely despite everything.

"Just a little reminder to always have a little levity, my dear sister; I no more want Amon and Echo to gain that God Card than you do, and as it so happens, I've a few aces up my sleeve." With flourish, Fubuki revealed the cards he had hidden in his sleeve. "With these, your deck should be able to achieve its ultimate form. Well, at least before you win the God Card at any rate."

"Fubuki." Ryoko looked Fubuki in the eye, a stern glare in hers. "I know that your confidence in Asuka is legendary, but you should not be so quick to dismiss everyone else. Especially my younger brother, who's come a long way since the last time you saw him."

"Ryoko." Fubuki said with a sly smile. "I'm exceedingly glad that you're able to be openly proud of your little brother now, but in this field you are still a neophyte; after all, despite all the time available to you, you never picked up any cards for Shou to use, just Dark Magician Girl and Dark Magician Woman for yourself."

"I could just as easily say that you are the one who lacks confidence in your younger sister, and are unwilling to let her stand on her own." Ryoko's smile was full of pleasure.

Fubuki paused. He cracked his knuckles. "You do understand, my dear friend, that such a statement can only be answered in a duel, yes?"

"I am willing to accept that; after all, in all the years we've known each other, I've always won each and every one of our duels."

Fubuki took a momentary glance to make sure that the students brought in by Amon were still present, and continued. "But we've both become far stronger since then; who knows how this duel will turn out?"

"Either way, I look forward to finding out." Ryoko glanced to Shou, who understood exactly what was going on.

* * *

"Hello Mr. Garam." Amon Garam said as he spoke into his cell phone, having just stepped out of his and Echo's room, leaving her to sleep peacefully in preparation for tomorrow's battles. "I trust that you appreciate my acquisition of the Manjoume Group."

"Your acquisition?" Mr. Garam spoke with open contempt. "The Garam Group acquired the Manjoume Group. You were merely the tool that facilitated that end."

"Yes, yes, all for the sake of Shido Garam, the true heir and trueborn son of the Garam Group. Rest assured, I have no animosity towards him; after all, he is still an innocent child, still unaware of the countless sins of the Garam Group that created the world he lives in. And rest assured, I've no animosity for you either; you and your wife are the ones who saved from an ignominious and lonely death."

"You've told me why you haven't called me at this ungodly hour of the night. Now explain to me why you have done exactly that!"

"So irritable, Mr. Garam; surely there was a time in your life when you still regarded this hour of the night as a productive period of time, yes? A time for contemplation and reflection, a time to think on just what Cogito Ergo Sum means to you. But, seeing as that time has passed for you, and I presume Mrs. Garam as well, I shall get to the point; enjoy tomorrow." Amon turned the cell phone off, tossed it aside, a boon of its disposable nature. Let the old man puzzle out the meaning of those two words, for after tomorrow, his place in the world would be gone.

* * *

"Enjoy tomorrow?" Mr. Garam looked down at his cell phone with an amused expression on his face. He turned to his wife. "Can you believe that conceited brat, Agape?"

"Easily, my dear Thoth." Agape Garam said with a cultured laugh. "He is nothing if not persistent and predictable to the last. Still, regardless of what he thinks he is doing, everything he does is for Shido, and the good of the Garam Group."

"Of course my love. I was simply taken off guard by how brazen he's become; after this is all over, we should recall Amon, and reacquaint him with certain realities."

"I'll start arranging it in the morning dear, but for now, let us return to sleep."


	28. Chapter 28

The Clash of the Titans, The Path to the Heart

* * *

"I'll go first!" Fubuki called out as he stood in the center of everyone's attention. "I summon Loyal Dragon in defense position." A heavy, hunched over dragon stood before Fubuki. "Now I'll set three cards, and end my turn. I'm prepared for you Ryoko, and whatever you have to throw at me!"

"You know, in all the stories, loudly proclaiming your victory is the surest path to defeat; I would have thought that you of all people would have understood that, especially after all the times I've defeated you." Ryoko smiled, a small, happy smile that helped her to feel truly at ease.

"Ah, but now we've both said it, so who shall narrative irony smile upon?" Fubuki grinned eagerly as he spoke, exactly the dear friend that Ryoko had always appreciated.

"The cards shall decide that. Now, I summon Skilled Dark Magician to the field, and I'll attack Loyal Dragon." Against the wizard's capable magic, the dragon could not endure, and was destroyed in an explosion of darkness.

"And since Loyal Dragon was just destroyed in battle, I can activate its effect to add a Level Four or lower Dragon from my deck to my hand." A familiar chirp sounded out, signaling to Ryoko exactly what monster Fubuki added to his hand. It seemed that he was determined to bring that monster out as quickly as possible.

"Now I'll set two cards and end my turn." The air became thick and heavy as the two duelists faced one another, felt their spirits as duelists struggle for dominance. "Fubuki, do you ever worry about the fact that our strongest connection is when we are battling like this?"

"Never, my friend." Fubuki said, that ever cocky grin on his face. "We our duelists; battling each other is in our nature, the way we show each other who we really are." As he spoke, he summoned Red-Eyes Black Chick. "And at the end of the day, this is the true me, stripped of all unnecessary adornments." He activated Summoner's Art, and then sacrificed Chick for Red-Eyes Black Dragon. "And now I'll show you the pure potential of my dragon, unsullied by Darkness and unburdened by Metal; I activate the spell card, Inferno Fire Blast!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon dug its haunches into the ground as it opened its jaws wide open, gathering energy from the night sky itself. Greater and greater in size the black fireball grew, until it became like a midnight sun. Then the Red-Eyes Black Dragon whipped its head foreword, launching that midnight black fireball directly at Ryoko.

"Furthermore, I chain Spell Reclamation to Inferno Fire Blast, discarding one card to the grave to allow me to return Inferno Fire Blast from the grave back to my hand." The fire was now mere inches away from incinerating Ryoko.

"Then I suppose I should stop the rise of your second sun, now shouldn't I?" Ryoko swept her arm out, an experimental gesture. She didn't care for it, but it was worth trying. "I activate my Trap card, Grave Control!" The ground between both duelists began to glow with a warm light as Ryoko became consumed in the fire, 2400 points of direct damage done to her. "When the opponent activates a card effect to return a card from their grave to their hand, I can negate that effect, and add one card in either player's grave to my hand." Summoner's Art flew out from Fubuki's grave to Ryoko's hand, signaling that this would be the end of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon's attack.

"As always, you are one step ahead of me, Ryoko." He said with all the air of one who could not have been more pleased. "And so our battle continues. I end my turn, and look forward to yours."

"And I look forward to seeing your response. But first, I activate Summoner's Art, adding Dark Magician from my deck to my hand." With that, the Skilled Dark Magician gathered the excess magic, forming its third and final spell counter. "Now, I activate Skilled Dark Magician's effect, sacrificing it to special summon Dark Magician from my deck." The lord of all magicians appeared, and it looked the Red-Eyes Black Dragon in the eye as one would look at their rival. "Next, I sacrifice Dark Magician to summon Dark Magician Girl from my hand." Bubbly in one moment, stern and focused the next, Ryoko realized exactly who the Dark Magician Girl reminded her off, and thus felt no shame at all in using her and her power. "And now that Dark Magician is in the grave, this activates Dark Magician Girl's effect, raising her attack power by five hundred points. And with her on the field, I can activate Sage's Stone, special summoning the third remaining Dark Magician in my deck." Master and apprentice were joined together now, their joined power incomparable. "And with Dark Magician back on the field, I can activate Dark Magic Attack to destroy all your spell and trap cards, Fubuki!"

As the dark rings of magic approached his face-down cards, Fubuki grinned. "You've forced my hand Ryoko, I only hope you're ready for it; trap card activate Burst Breath!" Fubuki's other trap, Negate Attack, was lost, but this one could still use its effect. "By sacrificing one dragon monster I control, I destroy all monsters on the field that have a lower defense than my dragon's attack power!" Red-Eyes roared as its whole being was suffused with more power than its body could hope to contain. It expelled that golden energy in one mighty breath, expending its life-force in the process. Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl erected a barrier to protect themselves, but it was broken in an instant, their lives snuffed out.

"Quick-Spell activate, Master's Sacrifice." A pillar shot down from the heavens where the Dark Magician Girl once stood. "When a spellcaster I control is destroyed by a card effect, I can discard an equal or higher level spellcaster and one spell card in my hand to special summon that spellcaster to the field. Thus, I discard my final Dark Magician and Thousand Knives to special summon Dark Magician Girl back to the field." Dark Magician dived down from the heavens, and Dark Magician Girl arose from hell itself. They met halfway, and as Dark Magician sacrificed his life for hers, she honored the sacrifice all her masters had made for her, and drew upon all their knowledge, her attack power rising to 3500. "Dark Magician Girl, direct attack!"

She summoned four dark spheres of power, and had them orbit one another in a chaotic fashion, impossible to follow. She then launched that magic directly at Fubuki, a devastating blow.

"Wonderful!" Fubuki cried out, filled full of enthusiasm for life itself. "Finally, after all these years, I can duel your true self, Ryoko. Sure, it's going to be an even greater challenge now that you're using an even greater monster than the Dark Magician, but that just makes it all the more worthwhile!" Fubuki drew his card, energy filling every fiber of his being. "I activate Deadly Draw; when my life points are lower than my opponent's, I can pay half my life points to draw two cards." Rushing ever closer to defeat, Ryoko could see that her friend was closer to living than ever before. "Now, I play Rebirth of Pride; by discarding a dragon monster from my hand, I can special summon a dragon from my grave with lower attack power than the discarded one. Thus, by discarding the twenty-eight hundred attack power Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, I resurrect Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

As Red-Eyes re-emerged into the world, its body swelled up as power undreamed flowed through it. "And, until the end phase of my turn, Red-Eyes will have its attack power doubled." With wings spread out, the Red-Eyes took to the sky, far above the Dark Magician Girl. "Red-Eyes, attack!" Red-Eyes fired down a volley of pitch-black fireballs, well over a dozen. Despite the Dark Magician Girl's best efforts, she was struck down, and Ryoko was left with just 300 life points. Red-Eyes came back down to the ground, it's form diminished to its normal dimensions.

"My turn." Ryoko said, expressing her eagerness. "I play Magical Residue, removing all four spells in my grave from play to draw two cards." And now the time had come. "I play Monster Reborn, special summoning Dark Magician Girl back to the field." She emerged from the grave yet again, her expression hardened by the experience. Yet in her attack, the way she waved her wand around to gather her magic, there was still that eager optimism. "Dark, burning." And with that, it was all over. As Fubuki's dragon fell, so did he, yet the smile on his face wavered not at all.

"Marvelous!" He yelled as he got back to his feet and ran up to her. "That was our most marvelous duel yet!" He swept his arms out to all the duelists who'd watched, and Ryoko noted that the duelists Amon had abandoned were looking intently at them.

"I have to agree, Fubuki. In all the time that I've dueled, in all the time that I've spoken of shining brighter than the monsters we summon, it's only now that I've accepted Dark Magician Girl into my heart that I've truly begun to shine." She then looked to both groups. "What did you think?"

They were silent. Judai broke that silence. "That's it." The look on his face, Ryoko knew that look well; he'd just realized something important. "That's it!" He yelled out, and he turned around, ran into the main building, and all his friends followed. All that remained, were Amon's duelists.

"You…" Emi Tanaka. She spoke hesitantly, with difficulty. "You're nothing like what I've heard."

"And you are not as I've heard either." Ryoko turned to Fubuki. "We should go see Principal Samejima, tell her everything."

"Of course Ryoko. Ladies first."

* * *

"Judai, calm down!" Emi Ayukawa said as she grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him down into a chair. "Now, why do you want Professor Hibiki's deck so badly?" Judai Yuki looked up into her eyes with such a rushed expression, like he couldn't afford to take the time to explain.

"I, I need to find which card she'd put her soul in, the one she made shine with her heart." He turned his head toward Midori's unconscious form, looking with a longing like she was so close and yet so far. "Please, Head Nurse Ayukawa, I need to talk to her, right away!"

"So that's what you meant." Asuka Tenjouin said as she stepped forward from the rest of the group.

"I'm sorry Asuka, everyone, but right now, I really need Midori's help. I know I'm being really selfish and immature, acting like this when she's the one who needs our help, but that's how it is."

"Judai." Ayukawa said, her throat thick with emotion. "Here." She reached into her coat pocket, and took out a card. "I've been keeping it, hoping maybe it would rub off on me a little. I think it'll work better for you though." She handed it to Judai, who held it gingerly in his hands.

"Fallen Angel Desire." As Judai looked at it, Ayukawa could see a change in his eyes, the look that signified that he saw something beyond the material. He took his chair, scooted it right next to Midori, and leaned forward to close his eyes.

"All right everyone." Ayukawa said, motioning them all away. "Don't worry, Judai'll be out with you all tomorrow and you can all fight your battles together. But right now, you all need to sleep. He's figured that much out at least." They all filed out, with Asuka as the last to depart, her gaze lingering only slightly.

* * *

"Midori!" Judai yelled out, arms held before his face to block the intense wind that whipped all around him. "Midori, where are you?" Each step he took was drowned out in the wind, the hard cold ground beneath him like a giant stained glass window. Whatever it was, it was too vast for him to make out just what it was depicting. Suddenly, the wind grew more intense, more focused, and before Judai could find anything to grab onto, he was swept up into the air. He felt the card, Midori's card, slip out of his pocket, and he desperately reached out to it. He grabbed it by the corner and held it tight to his chest, spinning in the air at the whim of the wind.

"Judai!" He desperately looked all about himself, but Midori's voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once, scattered everywhere by the wind. "Judai, watch out!" A beam of light shot at him from across the heavens, but something knocked Judai out of the way. It took less than a moment to recognize Midori as she squeezed the life out of him.

"Midori!" Judai returned the favor, and as he felt himself at peace after so long, the wind died down. Even so, they continued to float high above the ground. "Midori…what is this place?" Midori'd finally let go off him, and as he looked down at the ground, he gaped as he realized what was being depicted below him; it was himself, and all around him were smaller pictures of friends, family, and various other people he knew. Standing at his side, equal in size, were Midori and Kouyou Hibiki.

"Judai, we are in the Sea of Souls." Midori said in matter of fact fashion, ever the teacher even at a time like this. Judai recalled that Asuka told him that Daitokuji had mentioned something like this. "This is where Kouyou was while he was in his coma."

"What? But, he said was with me, because I had his deck." As Judai spoke, he saw it in the distance, the spot on the ground where the light had struck. Something was happening there, something vast beyond all accounting.

"This place, this state of being, is how Kouyou has done everything that he's done. It is here that we are all connected, through the bonds that we make with those we meet, and the bonds they make with others, and so on and so on." As Judai took this in, he remembered back to his first year, when Fubuki appeared in his and Asuka's dreams, and in his second year Takuma Saiou did the same thing. "Most people don't have a strong enough spirit to be in this place, to be aware of it. But Kouyou did." A tear streamed down Midori's face. It was followed by others. "All this time, he's been alone in this place, able to see and hear, but only once could he act."

"Last year…" As Judai remembered it, remembered how Kouyou appeared to him, helped him to resist Mizuchi's power, he saw them; countless lights above, like stars in the sky.

"Souls that have yet to be born, and souls that are about to move on, Kouyou stood in this place and watched them all." Judai could only remember one other time when Midori had spoken with such a somber tone. "He listened to their voices, heard their cries ring from the distant past to the far off future, and he knew there was nothing he could do for them."

"But you could." Now Midori looked directly at Judai, looked him in the eye. "Kouyou had entrusted his deck to you, and through it he could see how hard you'd fought so hard for your friends against Daitokuji's creation. Then you fell to Mizuchi, and as you fell deeper into the Light, you came halfway to this place, allowing him to reach you. That's when he realized it was your soul that cried out loudest of all."

"My soul?" Judai knew he'd missed Kouyou greatly, their reunion was proof enough of that. Even so…

"Yes, and after you returned to your battle against the Saious, Kouyou stood here, in between the world of the living and the world of the dead, and chose his course, to gather up the power of every soul he could. He'd hoped to give it to you, but even after you and Asuka defeated Takuma Saiou, you weren't strong enough; you wouldn't be able to control that power, and would fall victim to it, just like Ryoko and Takuma did." Visions of Ryoko and The Empty Fiend, of Saiou and Arcana Force 0 Through XXI the Journey Completed ran through Judai's mind.

"And…" Judai could feel his voice as it was caught in his throat. "And," But he knew he had to say it, "He knew he didn't have long left, didn't he?"

"Yes." Midori's tone was choked by the tears that streamed freely. "He determined, that in order to raise you up to where you needed to be, he needed to create one last enemy for you and your friends. He had Amon appear first, so that you would suspect him first, and then he dueled me, so as to seal me in this place. After all, so long as I was there to protect you, you'd never be able to achieve the strength you needed."

"But Midori, I don't need that kind of strength, that kind of power!" Judai yelled out, his own tears rushing forth of their own accord. "All I wanted, all I wanted…" He stopped, realizing the truth of what he would have to say.

"You always wanted to be a hero, Judai. Someone strong enough to protect their friends, so you could always have fun with them, no matter what." She said it with such resignation, such acceptance, it made Judai's stomach twist into a knot. "Once you've defeated Kouyou, you can use the power of your God to wake me up, and then you can go on to be the hero both Kouyou and I knew you could be."

"You really think that's the right thing for me to do, Midori?" He closed his eyes, looked away from her. "I know that's what I said when I was just a little kid, and I believed that for a long time, but…" Judai opened his eyes, wiped away his tears, and looked resolutely into Midori's. "Things have changed. I've changed. I've made so many incredible friends, friends I would do anything for, and they'd do the same for me. They count on me, and I count on them. We're there for each other all the time, covering each others backs and doing our best to keep each other safe. I understand why you and Kouyou are worried about me. You can't always protect me, but you'll never stop worrying about me. But the kind of strength, the kind of power that Kouyou's trying to create is a lie and you know it!" Suddenly, the air around Judai and Midori became heated with his passion. "It doesn't matter why, it doesn't matter how, one person trying to take all that power for themselves is wrong. We're all human, we all need each other, and I'm no exception. If I accept what Kouyou's trying to do, tried to become some sort of godlike figure standing in judgment of everyone, I'd be no different from Daitokuji, or the Saious!"

With that, Midori fell to her knees, as though the floor had fallen right out from under her; a paradoxical statement, as both she and Judai were still high in the air. "You're right." Midori said, taking heavy breaths and standing back up. "You're absolutely right Judai." She wiped her face clean. "This place, it's so full of despair, Kouyou's despair."

"That's right." Judai could feel it all around them, but as his eagerness grew, it was less able to touch them, affect them. "If I can stop him, show him that he doesn't have to do all this, then…" He paused, realizing the inevitable. "At least I can save his soul."

"We will, Judai." Midori said quite firmly as she took Fallen Angel Desire from him. "You don't really think I could let both of my little brothers fight each other and just stand aside, right?"

"Heh, right." He took her card back from her. "We'll find a way, together."

* * *

**Author's Note:** In the original manga, Dark Magician Girl's effect gave her five hundred attack points for every Dark Magician in the grave, rather than 300 as in the anime and the real card game. I decided to go with the manga version for this duel.


	29. Chapter 29

Bonds That Are Tested, Bonds That Endure

* * *

"Wow, I can't believe they've already taken off." Judai said wistfully as he waved at Katsuya Jounouchi's and Mai Kujaku's boat as it crossed over the horizon. The Professional Duelists that Kouyou had invited had left during the night, their boat long gone.

"They did a lot while they were here," Shou Marufuji said as he tugged on the collar of his brand-new Obelisk Blue coat, "But it's up to us to take care of the rest, and make sure that Amon Garam doesn't get a hold of the God Card."

"That's not all we have to do." Junko Makita said as she turned her head back to the school proper. "Those duelists whose memories Amon manipulated, turned into his pawns, we can't let any of them get that card either; even if Amon says he's cast them all aside, it could all be a trick to put us off our guard."

"Regardless of what the truth is," Momoe Hamaguchi said, gazing at her reflection in the water, "I can't help but want to get that card for myself. There's all kinds of things I could do with that power, all kinds of people I could help. And yes Judai, I remember what you said to us all about what Professor Hibiki told you."

"Besides, there's nothing inherently wrong with desiring power." Jun Manjoume looked up to the clear blue sky as he spoke. "By the rules that Kouyou Hibiki set down for this tournament of his, we all need to remember our dreams and fight for them, or else we'll fail immediately."

"That's right." Rei called out exuberantly. "I wouldn't even be here if I didn't fight for the dreams in my heart with everything I had, and I'm not going to change that now, just because Kouyou's gone and put Pandora's Box in front of all of us."

"Hmm, a rather apt comparison, Rei." Edo stroked his chin, only somewhat surprised by his younger friend. "What else is Kouyou offering us, but the light of hope itself? And who in their heart could resist such temptation?" He then turned to Judai. "I suppose that if you win, and face Kouyou, we'll find out if you can."

"Don't count me out so quickly there, Edo." Daichi Misawa said with a note of amusement. "I won't deny the allure of a shortcut, but I've always been prepared for the long haul. Whether I fulfill my dreams today, or ten years, or twenty years, or however long it ends up taking, I'll know that I'll have done everything in my power to do so, and I'll harbor no regrets."

"That is doubly true for me." Momiji felt it sufficient to say just that. His friends knew exactly what he meant. Their nodding smiles were proof enough of that, and the knowing that he had so many friends, so many dear friends, who understood his nature and accepted him, was something he would always treasure, and would always protect.

"Everyone." Asuka Tenjouin put her hand out. "We've all dueled each other before, and we'll do it again today. We're duelists, that's how we connect, that's how we grow, that's how we change. No matter who wins in the end, so long as we all duel from the heart, there will be nothing for any of us to regret." Everyone joined in, joining their hands together, affirming their promise to one another. "Now come on, it's almost time." With that, they departed to where Kouyou Hibiki awaited them, to find out the final details of the New Duelist Kingdom tournament.

* * *

"I take it we're all here for the same reason, right?" Emi Tanaka looked at her fellow duelists, the only ones who could truly understand the nature of their situation.

"I've thought about it, and Ryoko was right." Daiki Kobayashi looked from side to side as he walked, keeping everything in view.

"Yes, it's up to us to create our own truths." Rin Ito held her head up high, looking to the heavens.

"The truth that Amon, that the world, has tried to impose on us, is meaningless in the face of that." Yuuto Inoue watched as a beetle flew away from their path, and smiled as he remembered the power he demonstrated in his duel against Momiji Todo.

"Even if Amon tries to manipulate us again, he won't have his way again." Takara Yoshida stepped on a twig, the sound of it snapping like a bone cracking in her ear.

"He knows we're going to try to take him down. It won't do him a damn bit of good." Shinji Kato swallowed one last pill, swearing that it would be the last he would need.

"The only fortune he can hope for is that his precious Echo doesn't end up facing me." Haruka Endo scowled at the memory of how she'd been used by him, her theories made complicit in the deaths of many just to further his ambitions.

"No matter what, I won't let there be any regrets after today." Hachirou Sasaki grimaced at the thought of how pathetic he'd been made to be at Amon's hand, and saw that they were almost there, the site of the new Duelist Kingdom.

* * *

"My love, I wish I could have made things easier for you." Amon Garam said, stroking his beloved Echo's short, cropped hair. "You will have to face many battles today, against opponents who will be absolutely determined to defeat you. From this point on, Echo, I can only give you my love."

She smiled at him. It was such a beautiful smile, one that only he saw. He saw the light of hope in her eyes, born of the dream that they both shared. She grabbed the back of his head, and pulled him in for a kiss. He felt her eyelashes as they flitted across his cheek, and knew that their passion for one another was unquestionable.

"Thank you." Amon said as he pulled back. "Once you've won, once the power of that card is mine, everything shall be as it should be." He turned around. "Now, we must make haste, and meet Kouyou in his 'Duelist Kingdom'." He walked ahead, looking straight forward. He did not see Echo as she followed him, did not see her wipe the tear from her eye. What he saw, was nothing less than the fulfillment of the dreams that had dwelled in his heart for as long as he could remember.

* * *

"Welcome everyone, to the New Duelist Kingdom!" Kouyou Hibiki called out as all three groups arrived at the same time, in front of the main entrance to the school. Judai and his friends, Amon and Echo, and the duelists Amon had manipulated, all their spirits were palpable to him. They yearned for conflict, for battle, for the glory of the duel. He would give them their release, their prize. "As I told you all last night, I will pair you all off as I desire until there only one remains, and that one final duelist shall face me for the right to wield the God Card." He took the card out for a moment, saw how it was brimming with power, and put it away. "However, there were a few rules that I'd yet to cover."

"First and foremost, the winner of each duel shall receive from the loser an Ante Card; not their most powerful card, but the card that best embodies their soul as a duelist. In turn, if that winner should lose their next duel, they turn over both their Soul Card, and the Soul Card that they'd won. This will repeat, until the final duelist holds the Soul Cards of all the defeated in their hands."

"Second, surrender is absolutely not an option. No matter what happens, no matter what transpires, you are forbidden from giving in to your opponent."

"Finally." Kouyou raised his hand up into the air, and snapped his fingers. "Try to have fun."

* * *

"Shou?" Judai looked confusedly at his best friend, and then at his surroundings. "Wait, when did we get to the Duel Arena by the volcano?" Despite everything that had been happening to them, Judai was certain he would have remembered how they got here, to the place where he…

"That's right, this is where you dueled my sister, Ryoko, at the end of the Whim of Fate tournament." Shou looked at him with a fiery determination that he'd come to know quite well. "Back then, you still weren't strong enough to beat my sister, and while she's still more powerful than I am, I know that I've exceeded what she used to be. Bro!" Shou thrust his hand out, pointing directly at Judai. "I know exactly what's at stake here, but even now, even against you, I want to win more than anything! No matter what anyone says, if I don't give this my all, I'll never be able to look my sister in the eye again!"

"No problem, Shou!" Judai excitedly called out as he armed his duel disc. "I'd never ask you to hold back on my account, no matter what. And even with everything that's at stake, I know we'll be able to have a great duel that we can both walk away from with our heads held up high! So come on Shou, show me what you've got, so we can have a fun duel!"

"All right Judai, here I go! I summon Silent Magician Level Four, in attack position!" The child mage stood before him, her white robe tinted red by their surroundings. "Now, I'll set four cards, and end my turn."

"My turn, draw!" Judai watched as Silent Magician Level 4 grew more powerful, more confident. "I summon Elemental Hero Knopse, and then I play Rose Bloom, sacrificing it for the summon of Poison Rose from my deck!" The bud of a hero took root, and quickly grew until it reached maturity. "Now, I play Hero's Bond, special summoning Woodsman and Lady Heat from my hand in defense." Poison Rose was flanked by her fellow heroes, warriors who would keep Judai safe, and she would keep safe in turn. "Poison Rose, attack Silent Magician Level Four!"

She held her arms out, and unleashed a storm of rose petals, each one infinitely sharp. They cut the Silent Magician to shreds before she could come into her own, dealing 400 points of damage to Shou. But as Poison Rose grew in strength, taking sustenance in victory, a pillar of light shot up from out of the ground.

"When an attack position Level Monster I control is destroyed by battle, I can activate trap card Level Break, removing that monster in my grave from play to special summon from my deck its higher level counterpart, equipping Level Break to it in the process. Come forth, Silent Magician Level Eight!" The light broke, and in its place stood the Silent Magician, fully come into its own, staggeringly powerful with 3500 attack points.

"That was pretty good Shou." As Judai wiped his brow, for a moment he saw their duel back in the Whim of Fate tournament, how Shou went through great effort to summon Silent Magician Level 8 as quickly as possible. Now, not only had he done it even quicker, but he'd lured Judai into a trap, leaving his Poison Rose vulnerable to a devastating counter-attack. And if those other two face-down cards were what Judai thought they were, he was in big trouble. "But now that I end my turn, Lady Heat activates her effect, dealing six hundred points of damage." Lady Heat stood up for a moment, held a great ball of fire over her head, and threw it right at Shou before returning to her defensive posture.

"All right, now I summon Maha Vailo, and equip her with Mage Power." Slowly, carefully, Maha Vailo gathered up all the power she could from Shou's spell and trap cards, and once her attack power reached 4050, her aura became visible, crackling with energy. "Here it comes Bro, I'm attacking Poison Rose with Maha Vailo!" Lightning crashed down all around, even striking the lava itself. One bolt was all it took to reduce Poison Rose to ash, dealing 1950 points of damage to Judai. "And now, when Silent Magician Level Eight attacks Woodsman, I activate both of my Magician's Circle trap cards!"

As the two arcane arrays met, a brilliant light was released, one so intense that Judai was forced to cover his eyes. Once the light faded, Woodsman was gone, and two new spell casters stood on Shou's side of the field, Magical Marionette and Disenchanter, each with exactly 2000 attack points. However, the Summoner Monk that slept deep in Judai's deck also responded to the call, compelled to appear in attack position regardless of the wisdom of this decision.

"Damn Shou, that was really good!" Judai could feel his heart pounding in his chest

"I'm glad you think so Bro, but you shouldn't get ahead of yourself." Shou said with a small smirk as he directed his two new monsters to attack Judai's remaining monsters. They fell quickly, and Judai was left with an empty field and only a meager 850 life points to his name. "All right, your turn again."

"Okay." As Judai drew his next card, he could feel it, a presence that sought nothing more than to keep him safe. "I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense, and end my turn."

"My turn." Shou drew his card, and his smirk became a half smile. "You drew exactly what you needed to survive another turn. But that's okay, I want to see you pushed to the absolute limit, so you can see how powerful I am now! I activate Magical Blast, dealing eight hundred points of damage to you!" All four of Shou's spell casters collaborated, combined their power, and shot a great arcane bolt directly at Judai, leaving him with just 50 life points. "And now, I sacrifice Magical Marionette and Disenchanter to summon Divine Magician Deity Endymion from my hand."

"Shou, you're amazing!" Judai couldn't help staring in awe as Shou's three most powerful monsters now stood at his side, each one summoned right after the other. "This is just like…" his excitement died down. Not gone, merely diminished. He'd lost himself in the moment, but now he remembered. "You really have come a long way since then, haven't you?"

"Yep, and I'm not going to stop here, no matter what." Shou paused for a moment. "Endymion, destroy Winged Kuriboh." Endymion attacked with overwhelming magic power, enough to destroy one hundred Winged Kuribohs. Yet, in its dying breath, Winged Kuriboh summoned up a barrier to keep Judai safe from attack for the rest of the turn. "Now, come on Bro, show me the power that inspired me to never give up, no matter what."

"You got it, Shou!" As Judai drew his card, he felt new energy filling his being. "I activate Legacy of a Hero, and since I have three level four or higher Elemental Heroes in my grave, I can draw two cards. Next, I play Fusion Pass."

Judai took the top five cards from his deck, and sent them to his grave. No fusion occurred, but Judai achieved his goal. "Now, I play Miracle Fusion, removing one Elemental Hero, and one Wind Attribute monster in my grave from play," Judai took out Poison Rose and Summoner Monk, "And I fusion summon Elemental Hero Great Tornado!"

The wind howled with a fury undreamed, guided by the will of a hero who flew down from the heavens. Its cape flapped in the wind that spun all around it, and as it touched the ground, it focused that wind against Shou's spell casters. "When Great Tornado is summoned, the attack and defense power of all my opponent's monsters get cut in half." Indeed, the wind tore away at the magical acutriments of Shou's monsters, reducing their attack power considerably.

"Even so, you can't do enough damage to defeat me before my turn, and then I can use Magical Blast to defeat you, no matter how weak my spell casters may become."

"No. That's just if I attack one of your spell casters." Judai revealed the last card in his hand, and Shou gaped in shock.

"HERO Flash?" They both remembered, both could see it, their joint-duel against Junko and Momoe, and how this was the card that had won them the match. "But, that would mean that when you played Fusion Pass…"

"Yep. I managed to send H-Heated Heart, E-Emergency Call, R-Righteous Justice, and O-Overcalling to my grave."

Silence passed between the two duelists. "That's incredible Bro. The odds against that working…it was practically one in a million."

"Maybe. But I had to rise to the challenge that you set for me, right? And besides, the odds that the two of us would meet, and become best friends…that was one in a billion, wasn't it?"

"No. It was a sure thing. Just like this being a great duel, where neither of us would have any regrets. Go ahead Bro, you've earned this one!"

"Right, here I go! I activate HERO Flash, allowing Great Tornado to attack all of your monsters once each!" Elemental Hero Great Tornado flung out both arms, his cape blown high by the wind, and summoned a new windstorm. It condensed it into a ball, and threw it at Shou's spell casters, where it exploded, tearing them all to shreds at once. Shou fell to his knees with a joyous look on his face.

"I'm glad we got to duel one last time." Shou said as he wiped a few tears from his eyes. "Win or lose, a duel with you is always fun."

"Hey, don't worry, we're going to duel again, we've got our whole lives ahead of us…huh?" As Judai approached Shou, he saw that his friend was vanishing before his eyes.

"It's okay Bro, I figured it out the moment we got here…except, we're not really here, it's all just in our minds that we're here, that we're dueling." Now the volcano itself was gone. Shou put his hand out while it was still there, and held a card in it. "Here. The Card of my Soul." Judai accepted it, and watched as Shou's arm vanished moments after. "I'm sure, you'll be able to use it, in your duel against Kouyou." With that, he vanished.

Judai stood alone in an empty space, the Symbol of Heritage spell card in his hand.


	30. Chapter 30

Ascension of Rivalry, Ascent of True Strength

* * *

"You again?" Rei turned around in response to her opponent, and saw Rin Ito standing opposite to her. "And this place…" Rin stood at the edge of the Rock Climbing cliff, nothing but oblivion behind her. "Kouyou Hibiki has a paltry sense of humor."

"Rin, I…" Rin stuck her hand out, silencing Rei.

"Look at you; all the luck in the world, and you still have no idea what to do with it all, do you? The power of a God lies before you, and you still don't know what to do with it, do you?" Despite all the force behind her voice, there was a cracked quality to Rin's voice. "I thought I knew. I thought I knew exactly who I was, what I was doing, what I was accomplishing with my life. I thought I knew my strength, and I dreamed of proving that strength to everyone, showing everyone what I could accomplish." She sighed with resignation. "I thought I was better than you, I looked at you and saw a conceited little girl who was satisfied with the one lucky break she caught in life, and saw nothing more to be done but to coast along that one glory." She looked up into the sky. "I want to go back to that time. I want to make it a reality again, and destroy this feeling of doubt in my heart."

"Rin." Rei spoke with conviction, her voice unwavering. "Does it really scare you that much, to not know what it is you really want out of life? Do you really want an empty goal that doesn't mean anything, just so you have something to strive for? Are you really that desperate to cling to a lie, and call it the truth?"

"You still understand nothing, Rei." Rin Ito armed her duel disc. "There is nothing empty or false about the pursuit of strength. Look at Amon and Echo, look at what they've accomplished with their strength, using all of us to further their ambitions. If I am to be my own person again, if I am to live with myself again, I need strength, strength enough to claim the God Card and make my dreams into a reality!"

"I'm sorry Rin." Rei Saotome armed her duel disc in turn. "But I do understand what you're going through better than you think. For your sake, the sake of all my friends, and the sake of my dreams, I will defeat you!"

"Go ahead and try!" Rin declared as she took the first turn. "I special summon Gilasaurus with its own effect, and then I activate Big Evolution Pill, sacrificing it so that I can summon high level dinosaurs without sacrifice for three turns. Behold, Jurrac Titano!" A pillar of lava erupted just behind Rin, and a great red beast clawed its way out from that blazing inferno, consuming it as it did so. Like a Tyrannosaurus Rex made of roaring fire, Jurrac Titano stood as an apocalyptic beast with 3000 attack points. "I set one card, and end my turn. Go ahead Rei, try to overcome my monster, try and show me how empty my strength is now."

"Damn, you're not holding back at all, are you?" Rei said, the sweltering heat already causing her to sweat.

"I never do. I face every opponent with everything I've got, demonstrating the full extent of my strength every time, never needlessly risking defeat." Rin said, her face still cool in that tornado of heat.

"That's not a style of dueling that ever lets you relax, now is it?" Rei looked at her hand, and hoped for the best. "I summon Resonance Warden in defense, and set two cards to end my turn." As Rei put her cards in place, she felt a wailing cry deep in her bones.

"Permanent Trap card, Beyond Extinction." Two dinosaurs appeared at Rin's side, each one in terrible pain. "During each player's end phase, I remove a number of random dinosaurs in my deck from play equal to the number of monsters on the field." A flash of light, and both dinosaurs were gone.

"Culling the herd, I take it, to prepare for Tyranno Infinity?" Rin's eyes narrowed in response to Rei's declaration. "I told you before, I've gone over all the cards you could have in your deck, there's nothing you can play that can catch me off guard."

"So you say, but it's more than just the heat of Titano that's making you sweat, isn't it?" Rei's eyes grew wide, a dead giveaway. "I thought so. You know that there's more to Titano, but you can't remember what! And it will only get worse for you, because I activate Big Evolution Pill's effect to summon Superconductor Tyranno from my hand!" Huge crushing footsteps sounded across the field, a towering monster with cybernetic components embedded into its flesh, Superconductor Tyranno roared, revealing the brilliant light that shined within it. "Superconductor Tyranno, destroy Resonance Warden."

Rin's monster charged forward, and bit down on Resonance Warden, consuming it in a single bite and chewing its body into mush in only a matter of seconds. "I activate my trap card, Elemental Renewal, allowing me to add another Resonance Warden from my deck to my hand." Then Titano charged, fire spilling out of its mouth. "And now I activate my other trap card, Decayed Dirt, reducing Titano's attack power to zero!" The ground beneath Titano rose up and twisted about, seeking to clump itself upon the monster and weigh it down. However, Titano's body grew white hot, turning the earth around it to dust.

"That's what you forgot about Titano; it can't be targeted by monster effects, or trap effects!" Before Rei could react, Titano grabbed her in one of its claws and lifted her up in the air. It glared at her with primal contempt, and then tossed her back into the ground for 3000 points of damage. "Now do you get it Rei? You said you understood me, but if you had, you would have been able to stop that attack! You said you would duel for my sake, and the sake of all your friends, and look where it got you! Dueling for anyone but yourself, dueling for anything but your own strength, is the surest path to defeat!"

"Is that so?" Rei breathed heavily as she brought herself back to her feet. She'd wondered how it was that they'd gotten to cliff so quickly, and now she understood. "Tarou Araide." Rin looked at Rei quizzically. "My cousin. Years ago, I swore I'd become good enough to duel him for real, and then I found out he'd done something horrible, and gone on to become one of Mizuchi Takuma's followers in the Association of Light. Right then, everything about my old promise fell apart, and all I could think about was trying find out what had happened, what I could do to save him."

"But you are right about one thing." Rei now stood her ground, firm and resolute. "After that, I had stopped thinking about my dreams, I did just coast along without any real purpose in mind, I kept at it here at Duel Academia out of a sense of obligation to everyone else and nothing more. And you helped me realize that, and that's why I want to help you, to duel for your sake as well as for my friends!"

"Is that so? Unless you can defeat me, it's only empty words! I end my turn!" With that, Beyond Extinction activated its effect, removing two more dinosaurs in Rin's deck from play.

"All right, I'll just have to make good on that, now won't I?" Rei drew her next card, refusing to regret her chosen course. "I summon Homunculus in defense, and set one card to end my turn." Beyond Extinction struck again, condemning three more dinosaurs to oblivion.

"And now, on the third and final turn of it's effect, I use Big Evolution Pill to summon Ultimate Tyranno from my hand!" Scales like a million knives, a tail like a pincer, and vicious jaws that could bite through steel, the Ultimate Tyranno lived up to its 3000 attack points. "And now I activate Superconductor's effect, sacrificing Ultimate Tyranno to deal 1000 points of damage to you, winning the game." Superconductor approached Tyranno, prepared to claim its life to achieve victory…

"Trap card activate, Perfect Prism!" A shining crystal appeared over the field, refracting four female figures, red, blue, green, and white. "I send a Fire, Water, Wind, and Light attribute monster from my deck to the grave. So long as I keep this card on the field, no monster can leave or enter the field, no matter what!" And so it was that a veil of light separated Superconductor Tyranno from Ultimate Tyranno, denying it access to its effect. Ultimate Tyranno, filled with infinite rage, followed the compulsion of its effect and attacked Homunculus, but no matter how it tried, Homunculus would not perish.

"A costly effort, only good for delaying the inevitable. I set one card, and end my turn." With that, Beyond Extinction wiped out yet more cards from Rin's deck, four more dinosaurs lost beyond the veil of time and space.

"My turn!" As Rei reached for the top card of her deck, the Perfect Prism began to glow. "During the draw phase, I can send Perfect Prism to the grave, and add one card from my deck to my hand in place of my normal draw!" A card near the bottom of her deck began to glow, and Rei took it. "Now, I activate Fallen Fusion, removing Resonance Warrior, Resonance Maiden, and Resonance Guide in my grave from play to Fusion Summon Resonance Lady Three-in-One!" Ten feet tall, six arms, staffs and swords at the ready, and 3000 attack points just waiting to be unleashed. "Because I used the Fire Attribute Resonance Warrior in her Fusion, when Three-in-One destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to that monster's attack power. Furthermore, I equip her with Consuming Fire, raising her attack power by another 500 points, and when she does battle damage, I deal half her own attack power to you as damage. Resonance Lady of Three-in-One, attack Superconductor Tyranno!" She spun her blades against her aura, igniting them. She rushed forward, ready to slay the beast, when a blasting wall of ice-cold wind blocked her way.

"My trap card, Cold Sweep." Embedded deep within the frozen wind, none of Rin's dinosaurs could hope to survive. Even Titano's inner fire faded into ash in face of that blizzard. "I destroy every other card I control, and recover one thousand life points for each one, along with drawing one card for each one." Even Beyond Extinction was lost, and with that, Rin recovered 4000 life points, and drew four cards. The wind passed, and Rei's monster struck directly, skewering Rin. Then her blades heated up, dealing out even more damage. Once the weapons were removed, Rin was left with 2750 life points. "Well Rei? You have any defenses you want to set up before I destroy you?"

"I switch Homunculus's attribute to Water, and then I summon Resonance Warden in defense, ending my turn." Rei felt absolutely spent after that last attack, and felt a rising sense of dread as she realized what move Rin was about to make.

"I activate Spacetime Transcendence, removing four dinosaurs in my grave from play to special summon Tyranno Infinity from my hand!" As Rin's most powerful dinosaur roared, it's coiled horns crackled with electricity, revealing the phantasmal image of every monster that Rin had removed from play, a veritable horde of extinct terrors. "With fifteen dinosaurs removed from play, Tyranno Infinity possesses fifteen thousand attack points." Rin spoke with absolute calm while Tyranno Infinity's roars stirred up a chaotic storm. "But even that much is unnecessary. I play Dino Blast, to inflict twelve-hundred points of direct damage against you." Twin blasts of lightning emerged from Infinity's horns, and shot directly for Rei's heart.

"I activate Resonance Warden's effect!" Resonance Warden reached out and joined hands with the Water Attribute Homunculus, and together they summoned a wall of water, blocking Dino Blast's effect. "Once per turn, when I control a Water Attribute monster, I can negate a direct damage effect."

"…If you want to take the full force of my attack, so be it! I activate Predator's Ambush, discarding one dinosaur monster from my hand to let Tyranno Infinity to attack you directly!" In a flash, Tyranno Infinity was gone. Rei felt the hair on the back of her neck rise, and she looked all around for a sign of Infinity's impending attack. The crack of a rock on the cliff face was the sign in question, and Rei looked down to see that Infinity was about to reach the top, behind the line of her monsters. Just as it was about to open its jaws…

"I activate Resonance Warden's other effect!" Resonance Warden now joined her aura to Three-in-One's, creating a brilliant shining light that blinded Tyranno Infinity. "When I control a Light Attribute monster, Resonance Warden can negate one attack per turn!" The light grew ever brighter, and Tyranno Infinity crested the cliff, desperately flailing in search of its intended target. By the time the light was gone, Tyranno Infinity was back on Rin's side of the field, it's attack wasted.

"Persistent. But you still have no hope for victory, not so long as Tyranno Infinity's strength exceeds yours fourfold! I set one card and end my turn!"

"My turn…" Rei thought of her friends. All of them. She thought about the dreams that they were fighting for. She thought of Rin, and her dream, her desperate struggle for freedom, to escape the binds that had been placed upon her, deep within her heart. "Draw!" Rei felt it, the presence of a dark path connecting her to her opponent. "Rin! I'm going to show you now, that you already have everything you need to be who you are! I summon Resonance Reaper from my hand in attack position!" With the arrival of the final Resonance Monster, Rei's field became covered with a wild and cascading aura of power. "When I control a Fire Attribute monster, I can discard one card from my hand to activate Resonance Reaper's effect." Resonance Reaper swung her scythe, opening a hole in space itself. "The Fire Attribute monster I control, can attack the opponent directly!"

Resonance Lady of Three-in-One leaped through the hole, leaped right through Tyranno Infinity, and once more struck her swords right through Rin Ito's heart. The sounds of chains snapping echoed across the field, and Rin fell to her knees. She stared at Rei, as though she didn't know what it was she saw.

"…You win." She reached for her deck, and pulled out a card. "Before I give this to you, I want to hear it from you; what are you dueling for? What is the dream you hope to fulfill with the God Card's power?"

"…That's what I'm still trying to find out. This is something way too big, way too important, for me to rush into on my own. I'll take my time if I have to, but if the God Card can show me what I should be doing, then I'll take that chance."

"You dream…of a dream?" Rin then did something that Rei had never seen her do before.

She laughed. As she did, more and more of her body faded into the ether.

"Here you go." She tossed her Soul Card to Rei, Jurassic World. "Don't let me down Rei, I won't forgive you if you do." She said, still laughing, and even after she vanished, her laughter continued.


	31. Chapter 31

Prince of Man, Prince of the Forest

* * *

"How curious." Edo Phoenix heard Momiji Todo say to himself as he ran his hand across the trunk of a nearby tree. Edo himself stood near one of the pillars that shot out of the ground at an odd angle, just outside the main building of Duel Academia itself. "It would seem that what we are seeing now is a mental projection created by Kouyou Hibiki." Momiji then turned to face him. "I imagine this has to do with what Judai told us about the Sea of Souls. Truthfully, it's all quite fascinating."

"What?" As Momiji spoke, Edo became aware of an odd change to his friend's bearing. "Momiji, you're…" The pieces suddenly fit together in his mind, and much of what he'd known of Takuma and Mizuchi's cousin now stood in a new light.

"Oh, this." Momiji took a moment to look down at himself, and looked back up at Edo, shrugging as he did so. "A similar such event took place when I dueled Daichi Misawa last year, to save him from the grip of the Association of Light. It's okay; you're one of my dear friends, who I trust to understand the truth of who I am."

"Is that so?" Edo took a moment to think about all this. "Then, the dream that you want to fulfill with the power of the God Card…"

Momiji shook his head. "No. I am satisfied with the approach I have taken in this regard. In truth, I'm much more interested in finding out more about this." He put his finger on the tree, and a beetle crawled onto his hand. "Humans, Animals, Plants, we are all life forms, separated more by degree than we are by kind. Therefore, the power of the soul that we possess, is a power that all life possesses. I want to see it for myself, the connection that exists between humanity and our green Earth, so that we can better understand how to live together."

"Heh, that is a pretty grandiose dream, isn't it? Certainly blows mine right out of the water." Edo armed his duel disc. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to hold back on mine. What happened to Shinji Kato may have been a fiction created to motivate him to fight me tooth and nail, but that doesn't mean that there aren't those out there who've suffered because of Takuma's and Mizuchi's mistakes. If I can find them all, help them all, show them all the truth about Takuma and Mizuchi, then I'll know I'll have done everything I could for them."

"That's a magnificent dream, Edo." Momiji armed his duel disc. "If you were to win, and help my cousins achieve peace with the rest of the world, I wouldn't mind in the least. Even so, I still intend to achieve victory, and I'll feel no regret over doing so." The wind kicked up between the two duelists; Edo supposed it was this…mental plane, or whatever this place was, giving its approval. "I start by summoning Howling Insect in defense, and end my turn."

"Hmph. A monster I can't destroy without risking you summoning another one from your deck?" Edo drew his card. "That's an easy enough problem to solve. I activate my Field Spell, Royal Hall, and play Soul Exchange, sacrificing your Howling Insect to summon Thestalos from my hand." The forest vanished to make way for the domain of kings long past, while Howling Insect fell silent as Thestalos, the Firestorm Monarch, appeared at Edo's side. It raised one hand, and fired a thin beam of fire at the cards in Momiji's hand. One was turned to ash, Lord Poison, and the resultant embers spilled out onto Momiji, dealing 400 points of damage to him. "Unfortunately, due to the effect of Soul Exchange, I can't enter my battle phase this turn, so I'll set one card, and end my turn."

"And now I'll take mine." As Momiji drew his card, Edo felt a presence all around. "First, I remove Howling Insect in my grave from play to special Aztekipede the Worm Warrior from my hand." The ground was broken apart as Aztekipede burrowed up to the surface. "Next, I summon Armored Bee from my hand, and activate its effect to reduce Thestalos's attack power by half until the end phase." A heavy buzzing filled the air, and as the Armored Bee dived down, it used its razor sharp wings to sheer away at Thestalos's armor, reducing its power considerably. "Now, Armored Bee, attack Thestalos." Armored Bee positioned itself such that its stinger pointed directly at Thestalos's head. It dived in for the kill…

"Trap card activate, King's Solemn Promise!" Thestalos raised its arm and grabbed Armored Bee's stinger. "On the turn that this trap card is activated, one Monarch monster I control can't be destroyed. Furthermore, whenever it would be destroyed, I can add a Monarch Counter to Royal Hall." As Thestalos fell to its knees in pain, a statue appeared on the nearby stand, erected in honor of the King's valor.

"Interesting. But when Aztekipede does battle damage, I can send the top card of your deck to the grave." Armored Bee flew back to Momiji's side, allowing Aztekipede to slam itself repeatedly against the weakened Monarch of Fire. As it shook the very foundations of the hall, Edo found that he'd just lost Monster Reborn from his deck. Even so, the placement of his second counter was all he needed at the moment. "Now, I'll set one card, and end my turn."

"My turn." Edo watched as Thestalos returned to its full height, its strength restored. "I remove one counter from Royal Hall to add Raiza the Storm Monarch from my deck to my hand, and now I sacrifice Thestalos to summon Raiza!" Howling winds razed the field as Raiza appeared. It pointed at Armored Bee, directing the winds to return it to the top of Momiji's deck. "Next, I activate Royal March, discarding one card from my hand to activate Raiza's effect again!" The wind howled twice as loud as it tore Aztekipede's grip on the land loose, setting it atop Armored Bee. "With this, next turn you'll draw a monster that you won't be able to summon, limiting your options greatly."

"Indeed, a very well planned play." Then Momiji smirked. "One that I figured you would take. I activate my trap card, Beneficent Growth!" Lord Poison appeared on the field, only to become a phantom of itself. "I remove a Plant Type monster in my grave from play, and then draw four cards from my deck. Then, I have to send two Instect Type monsters in my hand to the grave, or else I lose my entire hand." With that, Armored Bee and Aztekipede became as fertilizer, fueling the growth of Momiji's hand.

"I see…I took your chance, and made it into a sure thing. Even so, the path to a direct attack is now open, and I will face whatever offensive you bring to bear next turn. Raiza, direct attack." Raiza held its arms before it, concentrated a sphere of wind between its hands, and shot it directly at Momiji, leaving him with just 1200 life points. "Now, I'll set one card, and end my turn."

"My turn." As Momiji drew his next card, Edo became aware of an earthen scent in the air. "I activate Seed of Deception, allowing me to special summon the Level One Evil Thorn from my hand." A barbed plant shaped like a grenade sprouted on the field, a bright red glow present at the end of its bulb. "I activate its effect, sacrificing it to deal three hundred points of damage and special summoning two more from my deck in attack position with their effects negated." Evil Thorn detonated, blowing shrapnel in Edo's direction, and when the smoke cleared, two more were present, though lacking in the same glow of power that the original possessed. "Now, I sacrifice one Evil Thorn to summon Ultimate Insect Level Five from my hand, which I then sacrifice with Level Up to special summon Ultimate Insect Level Seven from my deck, with its effect intact." The viciously built, moth-like monster flew down onto the field, releasing toxic spores that left Raiza weakened, brought down to its knees. "Now, I activate Super Solar Nutrient, sacrificing my remaining Evil Thorn to special summon Botanical Lion from my hand."

The brilliance of the sun broke through, causing the Evil Thorn to grow, mutate, and transform into the Botanical Lion. "Now, I'll have Botanical Lion attack your weakened Raiza."

"And that is where your attack will end." Edo activated his Negate Attack trap card, forcing Botanical Lion back. "That was very good Momiji, but that sort of brute force approach has no hope against me." As Edo spoke, his face was marked by a conceited grin.

"So it would seem. Even so, I'd hoped my optimism would be rewarded. In any event, I set one card to end my turn." Edo's eyes flared open for a moment when he saw Momiji bearing the same expression as his own.

"Yet another single card in the spell/trap zone…I remember reading that Seto Kaiba once said that in a duel one becomes a mirror to their opponent, or something of that sort. I would not have thought it would be so literal here."

"It is indeed an odd development. Perhaps…" And with that, Momiji's manner began to falter a bit. "Perhaps…when all this is over, the two of us can spend some time together?"

"I can't see any reason why not; you are after all a calm and rational individual, definitely much easier to get along with than most." Edo then drew his card. "But that will have to wait. I now remove my remaining Monarch Counter to add Caius the Shadow Monarch from my deck to my hand. Next, I remove Soul Exchange in my grave from play to special summon Spell Striker from my hand, and sacrifice it for Caius, activating its effect to remove Ultimate Insect Level Seven from play!" The King of Shadows arose from the deep, and as it guided those shadows to cling to the wings of the Ultimate Insect…

"I activate my trap card, Hooks and Pincers." As the shadows closed around Ultimate Insect Level Seven, it dived in towards Caius. "When an insect monster I control is targeted by a card effect, I can sacrifice that insect to negate and destroy that card, and then deal damage to the opponent equal to the attack power of the sacrificed insect!" Ultimate Insect Level Seven, with one final exertion, sliced Caius cleanly in two before falling apart, fading away. In the next moment, a new statue was erected in honor of Caius, cut down before its time.

"And now I have only two hundred life points left…if your monster had possessed exactly twenty eight hundred attack points, you would have achieved a perfect victory."

Momiji shrugged his shoulders. "Nature is often elegant and creative beyond measure, but never perfect."

"Neither is man, all too often. Even so, I will strive to redress the mistakes I've made, redeem the flaws of my character and that of my dearest friends. Raiza, attack Botanical Lion!" Once more, the shredding wind did its work, destroying Momiji's remaining monster, leaving him with just 700 life points. "But now, I have to end my turn, and trust in the power of my Monarch."

"And I will trust in my deck to overcome you." Momiji drew his card. "I activate Renewal of Life, removing two Evil Thorns and both Ultimate Insects in my grave from play to draw four cards, and discard two." He looked at his new hand for a moment, and Edo instantly recognized the look in his eye.

"So…what's your winning card?"

"Orchid Mantis." A creature that was a cross between an insect and a flower manifested on the field. "By discarding my hand, I can deal five hundred points of damage per card." He sent the remaining card in his hand to the grave, and with one swift swing of the Orchid Mantis's fore legs, it was all over.

Edo Phoenix fell to his knees, and looked at his hand as it became transparent. "I see…I suppose this too is part of that 'mental projection' you mentioned before, yes?" A light chuckle made itself known, a smile on his face in spite of his defeat.

"I would say so." Momiji Todo said as he approached his friend, the same smile on his face.

"In that case, I better give you this card, and hope that you'll be able to win the rest of the way." Once Edo passed on his Devoted Faithful One card to Momiji, everything became dark, quiet…peaceful. He knew in his heart that he would soon return to the land of twilight, the realm where light and dark intermingled in equal measure, the real world.


	32. Chapter 32

Those Who Yearn For Freedom**

* * *

**

"You?" Shinji Kato said only that one word, yet in Echo's ears, it echoed with his hatred. "At least I've caught one lucky break in this sham of a life." The predatory glint in his eyes, the way he bared his teeth…"All I have to do is defeat you here and now, and your entire convoluted plan will be crushed before it can reach fruition."

"Your anger is understandable." Amon Garam said as he stood at Echo's side, a benign smile on his face. "But look where you are now." Amon Garam swept his arms out, encompassing the entirety of the roof of Duel Academia in his grasp. "The Domain of Dreams, the Sea of Souls, the Collective Unconscious…for us, this has taken the form of the peak of the human world, the duelists world. We stand on the cusp of glory, at the very font of absolute wisdom, and we've only made it here because of everything that we've been through, both weal and woe. Echo and I, we've endured and accepted the suffering and the sacrifice we've had to make to reach this point. For your own sake, you should as well."

"For my sake?" Shinji's tone was sharp as ice. "You manipulate me, control me, use me and everyone else around you to advance your own petty ambitions, and you say I should accept that as something done for my sake?" Shinji swept his arm out, arming his Duel Disc. He now spoke with all the intensity of the midday sun. "I will not be happy in my slavery! I will not be content in my suffering! I will not rest, not until I've done everything in my power to stop you!"

"It is indeed unfortunate, but there is no cause for worry; Echo's victory over you shall be swift and absolute, and then you will understand what your suffering has been worth." Echo nodded inwardly; she would win, and all the suffering that they'd earned would be redeemed. "Echo, I leave the rest to you." With that, he made his way to the edge of the roof, and looked upon the horizon.

"Do understand, Shinji Kato." Echo spoke smoothly and evenly as she armed her duel disc. "It was never our desire to have you suffer as you did. It was merely necessary for us to fulfill our dreams. Now, take your turn."

"What's the point of cryptically asserting your humanity at a time like this?" Shinji drew his card. "Your actions have spoken for themselves. Now, I'll summon Test Ape in defense, and set two cards to end my turn."

"I summon Grace of Control." The angelic warrior in blue armor, a shining bow of light in hand, appeared on Echo's side of the field. "Now, I activate the permanent spell card Blessing of Grace." The soft call of a celestial choir sounded across the field. "So long as this card is on the field, whenever a 'Grace' monster activates its effect, I can draw one card." Grace of Control drew an arrow of the darkest night, and fired it at the Test Ape, consuming it. A vicious roar broke through the divine, bringing the duel down to earth.

"I activate Test Ape's effect, special summoning Gladiator Beast Andal from my deck, which allows me to activate both of my trap cards, Gladiator Lash and Double Tag Team!" Andal advanced, pulling on a pair of chains as it did so. With one chain, it pulled Gladiator Beast Laquari from Shinji's deck, and with the other it whipped at the cards in Echo's hand. "I've chosen the Gladiator Beast I could summon with Double Tag Team. Now, you have to choose a card to discard from your hand."

"Very well." Echo then sent two cards from her hand to the grave. "When Grace of Control destroyed Test Ape by battle, this activated its effect; by discarding one card from my hand, I can draw two cards." Then the celestial choir grew in intensity, drowning out the roars and calls of the Gladiator Beasts. "Through the Blessing of Grace, I now draw an additional card. Through the Grace of Control, I shall direct the course of this duel to the end I desire."

Shinji scoffed. "The 'Grace of Control'? You would use a monster like that, use a holy guise to hide your selfish desires."

"Such churlishness shall only damn you." Echo spoke with a venom that Shinji had never seen before, her eyes narrowed as though to cut him with their glare. "Simplistic, self-aggrandizing ideals such as yours, concerned only with redressing tiny, personal, imagined slights…your soul is as a speck in the face of my mission." As she spoke, she'd set a card to end her turn.

"Your mission?" Shinji said, refusing to be unnerved by the presence Echo had now brought to the fore. "What, expanding the reach and power of the Garam Group? Use the force of the God Card to make everyone into your slaves, the way you did to us, to me?"

"How ignorant." Echo took a moment to glance over to Amon, see the smile on his face. "Unfortunately, as you are now, you are far too broken. The truth would merely destroy you. As has been said, once I have won, truly won, you will be able to understand. Now, take your turn."

"A likely story. Not unlike that fable your precious Amon told us…if he really did contemplate killing his baby brother, why the hell would the Garams keep him around? No, don't bother answering; from the very beginning, you've done naught but spin lies. I'll break through those lies, shatter the chains around my heart, and use the power of the God Card to become truly free! I summon Gladiator Beast Hoplomus!" Tension mounted as Shinji waited for the condemnation of one of Echo's heralds. But as the Rhino charged onto the field, the celestial choir began to keen.

"I activate my permanent trap card, The Road to Hell; every time you summon a monster, I can draw one card." Once Holpomus reached its position, the keening of the chorus reached its peak, Echo drawing another card.

"An anti-summoning card?" Shinji possessed a curt smile on his face. "Why not? You contrived the construction of my deck without me realizing it. But what good will it do you, when I need only one more summon to defeat you, one more summon than you can possibly afford! I return Laquari, Andal, and Holpomus to my deck to special summon Gladiator Beast Heraklinos!" The lion's roar drowned out the keening, destroying The Road to Hell at the cost of one of Shinji's cards. "Now, I shall break your monster, and break your mask of perfection! Heraklinos, attack Grace of Control!" The gladiator beast barreled forth, frothing in rage…

"Grace of Control's other effect." It abandoned its bow, and produced a small, thin blade. "When attacked, it automatically destroys itself to negate your attack and end the battle phase." The Grace of Control took its blade, and stabbed itself, ending its life. "Taking control of weal, taking control of woe, this is but one aspect of the one worthy of the God Card."

"Please." The celestial choir raised its voice, and was silenced as Heraklinos roared, activating its effect to destroy Blessing of Grace. "Amon isn't even bothering to duel for himself. What the hell kind of Duel King could he possibly be? What can he hope to achieve with a God Card that couldn't possibly acknowledge him as its owner?"

"Were he and I to aim so low, so meagerly, you might have a point. But my ambition for him is far greater, and so long as the God Card acknowledges my will, then Amon's ambition shall be fulfilled." She had longed for this for so long, fought so hard to get this far, and she would keep fighting, keep dueling, for however much longer she had to.

"How quaint. Like something out of a fairy tale. But! You will advance no farther! There will be no miracle to save you yet again! For with Heraklinos on the field, your Ritual Summons are sealed! Take your turn, for what little it'll be worth."

"You are wrong." Echo drew her next card. "You've no idea the miracles that I've had to forge with my own hands. I will show you a fragment of that power, as I summon Grace of Judgment." A lightly armored angelic figure, clad in purple, a staff held in hand with the scales of judgment on top. "By removing an Angel Card in my grave from play," Herald of Green Light's spirit appeared for a moment, the card Echo had been forced to discard by Gladiator Lash, and then vanished, "I can negate the effect of one card on the field until the end phase. I negate Heraklinos's effect." Grace of Judgment balanced the power of the Herald of Green Light against that of Herklinos. The roar of the great lion was silenced, its rage made impotent. "Now, I activate Dawn of the Herald, sacrificing Grace of Judgment on my field, and the Ritual Devil Releaser I discarded through Grace of Control's effect in my grave, to Ritual Summon Herald of Perfection."

The call of the choir had no become transcendent, as even the noon sun seemed dimmed in the presence of such holy might. "Now, by removing Dawn of the Herald from play, I return the sacrificed Grace of Judgment to my hand. Now, I'll equip Ritual Weapon to Herald of Perfection, raising its attack power to thirty-three hundred." Herald of Perfection's whole being was suffused with power overwhelming, and it did not hesitate to use that power against Gladiator Beast Heraklinos, breaking weapon, shield, and armor, before breaking the beast itself. The three hundred points of damage it dealt was meager, compared to the devastating psychological assault. "You now have nothing. You face overwhelming odds, a dire enemy you can not let win. What miracle can you offer to free yourself from this plight?"

"My miracle?" Shinji Kato's breathing grew hard as he glared at the Herald of Perfection. "My freedom?" He looked down at his hand, at his deck. "I will, find a way!" He drew his next card, and could not hope to disguise the manic glee in his eye. "Yes, I have it! Even your Herald of Perfection can't block this!" He had in his hand three cards; Gladiator Beast Retiari, Test Tiger, and Supreme Roar. It was the last one that was key. "I summon Gladiator Beast Retiari to the field!" A lizard man armed with a trident, it was a mere prelude to what was to follow. "And now that I have a Gladiator Beast on the field, I can special summon Test Tiger from my hand!" And then, when she tried to activate Herald of Perfection's effect, he would activate Supreme Roar, which could not be blocked, and would destroy the Herald of Perfection.

But Test Tiger would not special summon.

"You will not." Echo saw the panic that overcame Shinji Kato as he tried again and again to activate Test Tiger's effect, saw the same panic she had felt so long ago. "By using Ritual Devil Releaser as a sacrifice for Herald of Perfection's summon, so long as it is on the field, you can't perform a special summon." He gaped, he was gaping in awe and terror before her. "This, is the miracle I will create. This is the power of the one who will herald the arrival of the True King."

"True King?" Shinji Kato said, abjectly stunned. "Him?"

"Yes. In his heart, dwells the compassion and skill necessary for a great leader. All he needs is the perfect wisdom with which to see the proper end of all things, and then he can lead this world to a better state. It will neither be the Night of Despair that Daitokuji would have created, nor the Eternal Dawn that the Saious sought. It shall be the Age of Wisdom, where all shall be free, and none shall suffer as he has."

"That's what you're dueling for? That's how you justified turning us into your puppets of flesh, making us into your pawns." Shinji Kato drew himself upright, proud, defiant. "I've done everything I could to stop you, and have failed utterly. Go ahead, and bring an end to this. It's the only dignity I have left at this point."

"Very well. I summon Grace of Mercy, and discard Grace of Judgment to activate its effect to destroy your Retiari." An angel in golden armor, and in her arms was a mirror. She held it up to Retiari, reflecting the divine into its eyes, giving it peaceful passage into the grave. "But know this; you too shall be shown the path to freedom from your suffering." Both of Echo's monster's attacked, wiping out Shinji Kato's life points.

"You mean the suffering you inflicted on me in the first place?" Shinji chuckled darkly as he began to vanish. "Here." He tossed his card to Echo, Colosseum Cage of the Gladiator Beasts. "If you do win, just don't expect me to get down on my hands and knees and grovel in thanks." With that, he was gone.

"As though I dreamed of such vulgar ego appeasement." Amon said as he returned to Echo's side. "Is it any wonder I do not share my dreams with those who would not understand?"

He then held her in his arms, and she in his. In that moment, Echo took strength from her soul mate's belief in her, and swore that she would make everything right, after everything that they'd put through, together.


	33. Chapter 33

The Final Twilight.

* * *

"Do you remember what happened the last time we dueled?" Jun Manjoume said to Emi Tanaka as they stood in the exact same spot where they'd dueled once before. "I'd asked you how Amon Garam had found you, but no matter how Head Nurse Ayukawa searched, she couldn't corroborate your story. Now we know why."

"And I take it you're here to laugh at me?" Emi raised her hand to mimic the motion of laughter, and then forced it back down. "No, the glower on your face says otherwise, but I wouldn't blame you if you did laugh. I kept accusing you and Professor Chronos of being clowns, unworthy of Obelisk Blue, all while acting like an immature twit. Hell, you two kept pointing how I kept aping my monsters, and I acted like you were making it all up." She laughed like she was spent, like she'd been utterly drained over night.

"…Even before we realized what Amon had done to you and the others, we never judged you for a mere quirk." Manjoume had her attention, though what she would take from his words, he couldn't say. "The only difficulty was your unceasing antagonism towards everyone, your conceit that your dueling prowess made you a better person than all others around you. Fortunately, since that too was an artifice crafted by Amon, you now have the opportunity to change yourself into a genuinely better person, one who can truly express their dueling prowess."

"And you care about that?" Emi was plainly skeptical. She flicked away one of her long orange strands of hair, and glared at Manjoume. "Even if you are being genuine, why should I change from what I thought I was? If I can take what I used to believe about myself, and make it into truth, why shouldn't I? Why shouldn't I stand at the apex of the dueling world, my existence proof enough of my strength?" She sighed, looked away. "That's what I would have said to you, if I hadn't seen Kaiser Ryoko's duel last night. She, her dueling…they were nothing like what I'd heard, and she said that I was nothing like what she'd heard of me. Did she…did she mean that she could see the real me, past all the conditioning and false memories? Did she mean I was that much weaker than I thought I was? Did she mean that I could day become as strong as her, truly strong? How can I even know?" She faced Manjoume again, and now the expression in her eyes was plaintive, desperate.

"Would it matter what answer I gave you?" Manjoume spoke calmly, evenly.

"No. No, it wouldn't." Emi shook her head as she spoke. "There's only one way I can know what she meant." She armed her duel disc. "I have to defeat you, defeat everyone in my path. That's the only way I can earn the God Card, and make it reveal the absolute truth to me."

"Even if you do win the God Card's power, what makes you think it can show you the truth you want? What if it just shows you another lie about yourself, like the one Amon crafted for you?" Her fist was balled tight, shaking with anger. "And that's it, isn't it? You want something absolute that you can believe in, a power that you can align yourself with to cast out all those who fall short of that absolute." Manjoume armed his duel disc. "I doubt even the God Card can reach the lofty heights you hope for."

"And what about you? What do you want from the God Card, that you think is within its power to grant?"

"In truth, a trifle." Manjoume said with a slight grin on his face. "A tiny thing in the scheme of things, and yet in my heart, it is the dream that shines brightest beyond all others. I'll show you what I mean through our duel." Manjoume drew his cards, and took his turn. "I summon Light Sprite Dragons in defense, and I'll set two cards to end my turn." A pair of tiny little dragons appeared, nipping at each other, appearing to all the world to be utterly helpless, and yet, so long as Manjoume took no damage, they could not be destroyed.

"A trifle?" Emi Tanaka shook her head. "No, I won't lose to that, I can't, I won't!" As she drew her card, for a moment the shadow of a great beast enveloped her, and then vanished. "I play Charge of the Light Brigade, sending the top three cards of my deck to the grave to add a level four or lower Lightsworn monster from my deck to my hand. Next, I activate Solar Recharge, discarding the Jain the Lightsworn Paladin I just added to my hand to draw two cards, and then I send two more cards from my deck to the grave." As the final card entered the grave, it shined brilliantly. "Since Wulf was sent from my deck to the grave, I activate its effect, and special summon it to the field, so that I may sacrifice it for Gragonith the Lightsworn Dragon!" A great leonine beast of a dragon appeared, and as it dug its claws into the ground, Emi curled her fists in emulation of it. "With three Lightsworn monsters in my grave, Gragonith gains nine hundred attack points, bringing it to twenty-nine hundred attack points. Gragonith, attack his monster with Breath of Light!" The Light Sprite Dragons were obliterated, and the full force of the blast struck Manjoume dead on in the chest. He was winded, but once the attack ceased, a dark shadow surrounded his being.

"I activate my trap cards, Damage Condenser and Bond of Dragons; thus, by discarding one card I special summon the twenty-six hundred attack power Dark End Dragon from my deck, while special summoning the level-two Wish Dragon from my deck as well." The forest grew dim as Dark End Dragon created an overcast that blocked the light. It leered at Gragonith, eager for its chance to strike. "The absolute truth you seek, is nothing more than the shadow you create with your own power. So long as you recognize that shadow for what it is, you can be safe. But as you are now…"

"No, don't you dare try to confuse me! I know my path now, and I will not falter! I set four cards, and end my turn." Emi Tanaka said, her manner conveying her desperation to convince herself more than anything. Gragonith roared, sending the next three cards from her deck to the grave. "Kouyou's God Card, it has the power of every soul on Earth. No matter what you say, no matter what card you play, there's no way that you'll ever convince me that the God Card isn't what I seek."

"Is that so? Then let's put that claim to the test!" Manjoume drew his next card with extra vigor. "I activate Wish Dragon's effect, sacrificing it to special summon two Dragon Tokens, and then I play Dragonic Tactics, sacrificing both tokens to special summon Burning Dragon from my deck!" A roar as loud as Manjoume's blood was burning hot, the serpentine magma body of Manjoume's dragon arced itself high in the sky. "When special summoned to the field, Burning Dragon destroys every spell and trap card on the field." As it shot meteors of pure fire into the sky, a pillar of light shot out from the ground, piercing the dragon right through the heart.

"My trap card, Punishing Light; when the opponent special summons a monster whose attack power is greater than the original attack power of a Lightsworn monster I control, I can send the top four cards of my deck to the grave to destroy that monster." But even as the Burning Dragon collapsed and its body vanished, the fire it shot out still claimed Emi Tanaka's remaining face-down cards.

"But now you have nothing that can stop Dark-End Dragon's effect." The mouth on its stomach opened up, and the dark billowing fog that spewed forth claimed Gragonith's life. "Dark-End Dragon, attack directly!" Solid black fire impacted against Emi Tanaka, but she stood her ground. "Now, I summon Golem Dragon in defense, and set one card to end my turn." The Golem Dragon appeared before the Dark End Dragon, shielding it from any attack. "You definitely have conviction, there's no lie to that. But your dream of an absolute to define yourself with, it's not something that can exist in the real world. Not even a real God could create something like that."

"At least…at least my dream is worthy of the power of a God. You, your dream is just a trifle, you said it yourself!"

"That's because it is; after everything I've been through, after everything I've done, restoring ownership of the Manjoume Group back to my brothers is almost too tiny to contemplate."

"…That's a trifle?" Emi Tanaka stared in wide-eyed shock at Manjoume. "The ownership of one of the largest multi-national corporations in Japan, and you call that a trifle?"

"What can I say?" Manjoume said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Ever since I was a child, I've dreamed of using my duel to help the cause of the Manjoume Group for my brothers. A tiny, foolish dream, held by a boy who wanted to justify playing a children's card game all day."

"Just a game?" Emi Tanaka looked down at the cards in her hand, down at her deck.

"That's right. And if I win, if I can impose my will and name upon the God Card, I can restore the Manjoume Group to its true glory. After that, I'm free to do whatever I want."

"You can be pretty clever when you want to be, Jun Manjoume." Emi Tanaka said, just a touch of a smile on her face.

"I've had good teachers in that regard." Manjoume said as he thought of Fubuki Tenjouin.

"Well, that is the whole point of there being a Duel Academia, isn't it? And I wanted to stand at the very top without understanding that." She chuckled lightly, without a hint of darkness. "The path that lies beyond the absolute and the perfect, that's what Ryoko was talking about, that's what she saw in me in that instant. Manjoume!" Emi called out, her finger pointing right at him. "I'll prove to the God Card that I'm worthy to follow that path!" And with that, she drew her card. "With at least four Lightsworn monsters in my grave, I now special summon Judgment Dragon from my hand!" Grand wings shed brilliant light across the field, meeting the overcast of the Dark End Dragon in equal measure. "And now I pay one thousand life points to activate its effect and destroy all other cards on the field!" Judgment Dragon roared and flared its wings, conjuring a thousand spears of light to pierce through everything.

"Trap card activate, Twilight Summoning Technique!" With that, Golem Dragon and Dark End Dragon vanished in a maelstrom of light and shadow. "By sacrificing two monsters I control, I can normal summon a Light or Dark Attribute monster from my hand." Thus, Light and Darkness Dragon appeared on the field, and with its power, it met every spear of light with a lance of darkness. "What now?" Manjoume asked with a confident smile on his face. "You don't have enough life points to activate Judgment Dragon's effect again, and if you destroy Light and Darkness by battle, I'll simply use its effect to bring back Dark End Dragon."

"But that's assuming I can't use the last card in my hand." She then activated it. "With Light of Life, I send the top two cards from my deck to the grave to pay the life point cost for Judgment Dragon's effect. Of course…" Unhesitant, Light and Darkness Dragon lashed out to negate Emi's card, heedless of the cost to itself. "And now, Judgment Dragon will attack Light and Darkness to end this duel, and clear the path for me into Truth." It was as she said; the concentrated power of Judgment Dragon's breath obliterated Light and Darkness Dragon, and sealed off Manjoume's path to the God Card.

"Damn…" Manjoume muttered as he fell to one knee. "Would have been nice to face Judai or Asuka one last time…oh well, I can always challenge them at graduation, assuming that there'll even be one after all this is over with."

"Manjoume." Emi Tanaka slowly walked up to Manjoume, her steps void of aggression, yet rich in confidence. "I promise, if I win, nothing will happen to your graduation."

"I thought as much." He took the Light and Darkness Dragon card from his duel disc and handed it to her. "No regrets about that rule Kouyou made." His whole body began to vanish. "Now go on, show them all the true pride of Obelisk Blue." And then he was gone, deep in the darkness.


	34. Chapter 34

Through Deepest Despair

* * *

"Hachirou." Momoe Hamaguchi tracked him down, found him crouched in the corner of the commons of the Obelisk Blue dorm. "Hachirou Sasaki, get up." He didn't budge, still hunched over, his long hair draped over the sides of his head.

"Damn it." He muttered to himself. "God damn it." Louder this time. "Why the hell did Kouyou have to pick you as my opponent?" There was a definite shaking in his voice. "I know in my heart that every last bit of my obsessive attachment to you is just artifice, and yet, the moment I saw you, I wanted nothing more then to cling to you like a pathetic child." Finally, he turned his head to look at her, hand over his eyes the way one did when looking at the sun. "Living like this, you've no idea…it isn't living at all." He stood up, drew himself to his full height, well greater than Momoe's. He gripped at his chest tightly with his other hand. "More than anything, I want to cut out my own heart, and kill this mad desire within me. I want to take these emotions that have twisted themselves into my soul, and tear them out." His breathing grew ragged.

"Hachirou, look at me." Momoe said as she held Hachirou in her gaze. "Look right at me, take her hands away from your eyes and your chest, and look at me." Slowly, tentatively, he did so. "When we first met, I tried to get you help. When we dueled again, in that tag duel with Junko and Takara, I had more than an inkling of the hand Amon had in your condition. Now I know exactly what he did to you, to all of you. I promise you, if I win, if I gain the God Card's power, I'll use it to restore your minds and souls to how they should." She approached

"No!" Hachirou shouted as he swung his arm out, forcing Momoe back. "I'll not hear your honey-tongued lies, Amon." Hachirou kept his arm out, kept Momoe at bay. "Yes, that's right. This entire place is an illusion, so why shouldn't you be one as well? Why shouldn't my poisoned, violated heart summon you up, and offer sweet promises of salvation? Yes, then it would only be natural for me to be drawn to you, there wouldn't be anything artificial about it at all…it's a clever plan, but I won't let it work!" Hachirou yelled out as he armed his duel disc. "I will destroy you utterly, oh siren of my heart, even if it costs me my very soul."

"I suppose words are useless then." Momoe said in resignation as she armed her duel disc. "Hopefully my cards will do better."

"Whether your lies come in your words, or in your actions, they are lies all the same." Hachirou drew his cards, took the first turn. "I activate my Field Spell Card, Chorus of Madness." Momoe could feel the silent wail of the chorus in her skin, seeping its way into her bones. "Now, I discard Twisted Witch and Madness Clown from my hand to summon Madness Defiant to the field." Momoe found that she couldn't make out the form of Hachirou's monster, but then she felt it all over her body, like a thousand spider threads holding her in place. "Madness Defiant possesses three thousand attack points. Now, I set one card and end my turn."

At once, Momoe cried out in pain as she was brought to her knees; the hymn of the Chorus of Madness burrowed its way into her soul, tearing into her focus. As she struggled to clear her eyes, Momoe could finally see it, Hachirou's monster. The upper half was a woman, long dark hair arranged like a spider's legs. Fittingly, the lower half was that of a vast phantasmal spider. "That monster…"

"It has the power to take my madness, and control it, turn it into a weapon that can defeat itself. Every time a Black Blood counter is placed on Madness Defiant, you take five hundred points of damage. That's right, it's only a matter of time before I've torn you out of my heart completely, before I can face Amon and his servant without any distractions at all."

"…I summon Sangan to the field, and then I play Second Summon to sacrifice it for the summon Gaap the Divine Soldier." Momoe got back to her feet. "Since Sangan was sent to the grave from the field, I activate its effect, adding Legendary Fiend to my hand. And now, I activate Gaap's effect, showing all three Demons in my hand to increase its attack power by nine hundred points until the end phase." As Giant Orc, Legendary Fiend, and Winged Minion all appeared in Momoe's hand, Gaap drew strength from their presence. "Gaap, attack Madness Defiant!" It swept its claws out, ripping apart the threads that had dug their way into Momoe. Then it flew up to face Madness Defiant…

"Trap Card activate, Truth and Lies." A sphere of darkness enveloped Gaap. "If you attack a monster that has a Black Blood counter on it, I can negate that attack." Gaap shot out of the darkness, back towards Momoe. By the time it realized where it was, it was already too late. "Then, I can special summon a Twisted or Madness monster from my hand. Come forth, Twisted Hopeful." A piercing howl compounded the effect of the persistent Chorus of Madness as a crazed werewolf bounded onto the field. "When special summoned to the field, Twisted Hopeful's original attack power becomes equal to that of the highest attack power monster on the field." Twisted Hopeful locked its gaze with that of Gaap's, acquiring every last bit of its power for its own. "I will see through your trickery, and use all your power against you."

"So it would seem." Momoe said to herself, not bothering to say anything to Hachirou. "I set one card and end my turn." As Gaap's strength declined, Madness Defiant's threads reattached themselves to Momoe, subjecting her to the full intensity of the Chorus of Madness.

"Not enough." Hachirou said as he drew his next card. "It's still not enough, I still need more. I activate Rune of the Devil, placing one Black Blood counter on Madness Defiant for every monster I control." Momoe felt that chaotic power flood her body, rend her focus, shred her mind. "Now, Twisted Hopeful, slaughter Gaap." It advanced with impossible fluidity, attacking from unseen angles as it tore Gaap apart for 900 points of damage, leaving Momoe with just 1100 life points.

"Trap card activate, Diabolic Descent; when a Demon monster I control is destroyed by battle, I can end the battle phase, and special summon a Demon Monster from my hand." Black waves of night presaged the arrival of the Legendary Fiend.

"That changes nothing." As Hachirou ended his turn, the Chorus of Madness cried out once more, its pain infecting Momoe as the Legendary Fiend began to bleed black blood. "Come next turn, you'll be forced to attack. The same madness that has compelled me towards you, I shall reverse it, use it to destroy itself." Yet, even as Hachirou spoke, there was no change in expression, no anticipation of joy.

"My turn." As Momoe drew her card, the Legendary Fiend's power grew, but the lust of the Black Blood was greater still, and it compelled it to attack Madness Defiant, in plain defiance of all sense. "Quick Spell activate, Demon's Crown!" Giant Orc's transparent form superimposed itself over Legendary Fiend's. "When a Demon I control attacks a monster with greater attack power than itself, I discard another Demon from my hand, and increase my monster's attack power by the discarded monster's until the end of the battle phase." Legendary Fiend's body swelled up with musculature. It swung out its arms and tentacles, taking hold of every thread that Madness Defiant had cast out. Legendary Fiend pulled Madness Defiant down to the ground and crushed its skull for 1400 points of damage.

"No…no!" Hachirou yelled out as he gripped his head. "Get out, get out, get out!" He looked at Momoe, and flinched away in terror. "Damn it, it was working, I'd almost purged myself of it, but now its back, and its as strong as ever!" For a moment, all that could be heard was Hachirou's desperate, labored breathing.

"It doesn't work, does it?" Momoe stepped forward. "You're not the first one I've met who was exploited like this, made to doubt and mistrust their own heart."

"What? You?" Hachirou stared at her, uncomprehending. "No, I don't know what sort of trick this is, but it is a trick. I know that much for certain, my heart is still trying to trick me, still trying to put me off guard, but I won't let it."

"And you're not the first," Momoe said as she took another step forward, undaunted by Hachirou's interruption, "to be drawn to someone so intensely that it felt like you'd lose all sense of self." She now stood directly in front of him, having passed Twisted Hopeful by.

"Get away." Hachirou's face was screwed with revulsion, but with his back to the wall, he had nowhere to go. "Please, get away, I want this more than anything, and I don't want that!"

"Look." Momoe locked her gaze with Hachirou's. "Look and tell me what you see." There was such fear in his eyes, his hands were shaking, his whole body was in the grip of a cold sweat.

"You…" Trepidation was thick in his voice, but Hachirou's eyes were settled now. "You…" His hands now lay limp at his side, his brow furrowed. "You…you're not the one my heart is crying out for."

"That settles it." Momoe then made her way back, rejoined the side of her Legendary Fiend. "At least with you, there is a core of truth to your feelings; before Amon got a hold of you, there was someone you knew who was intensely important to you. If you'd torn your heart out, tried to use your madness like that, you would have lost that feeling forever, and you'd never be able to find that person again."

"But…" Hachirou shook his head. "No, no it can't be! There's no room in my heart for truth, only lies!"

"That's okay, I didn't think it would be that easy." Momoe then looked at the last card in her hand. "I summon Winged Minion, and sacrifice it to increase Legendary Fiend's attack power by seven hundred points, ending my turn." The Chorus of Madness made itself heard, but without Madness Defiant's presence, it meant nothing to Momoe.

"That's right, talk all you want about my heart, talk all you want about understanding me, I know that it's only a lie I'm telling myself!" Hachirou drew his next card. "Twisted Hopeful, attack and destroy Legendary Fiend!" Despite its increased power, Legendary Fiend could not defend against such a frenetic assault, and was destroyed for 200 points of damage. "I will win, I will see you obliterated and my heart cast out forever!"

"You can't." Momoe drew her card. "No matter how hard you try, you can't get rid of me." The phantasmal spirits of Sangan, Winged Minion, and Giant Orc appeared on the field. "I'll take your madness and turn it against you, show you the true form of your heart!" The spirits vanished, making way for the arrival of Dark Necrofear in defense position.

"Of course you would." Hachirou shook his head. "You would summon a monster that I couldn't destroy without subjecting myself to its control." The moment he drew his next card, he grinned. "But I've seen right through you, I knew you'd bring that one against me; I activate Torturous Temptation." Coils of shadows emerged from Dark Necrofear's body. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can remove a monster that has a Black Blood counter on it from play." Dark Necrofear fell into a pool of infinite night. "But in turn, I can't attack on the turn I activate this card." Hachirou clenched his fist. "You're right there, there's nothing to stop me, but I still have to wait to destroy you."

"It's almost as though your deck is trying to speak to you, isn't it?" Hachirou stared at Momoe as though she were deranged. "Your soul is trying to reach you through your cards, trying to get you to understand the truth."

"That again?" Hachirou looked down, away from Momoe. "You say the feelings in my heart have a real target, that my soul is trying to speak truth to me…how can I believe it? What can you possibly do or say to convince me that this isn't just a self-indulgent dream that my tainted heart has conjured up?" This, he said with a pleading tone in his voice.

Momoe looked into Hachirou's eyes, and into the eyes of his monster. "Okay, you're listening now." Momoe drew her next card. "Truth be told, there's not much I can do or say; all I can say, is that if I win the God Card's power, I'm going to use it to undo the damage that you and all the others have suffered at Amon's hands. And all I can do, is hope my victory reaches you." She activated her spell card, calling upon the spirits of Gaap and Legendery Fiend. "Marked Doom; I remove two level five or higher Demons in my grave from play to destroy one monster you control, and deal damage to you equal to that monster's attack power." Gaap and Legendary Fiend possessed Twisted Hopeful. It turned around, and with explosive fury it attacked Hachirou at the cost of its own life, defeating both of them.

"Wait." Hachirou stood, staring blankly ahead. "For a moment, I could see the one in my heart." He looked to Momoe with tears in his eyes. "He…I want to find him, but I don't know where to look."

"I'll find him for you." Momoe said with a smile. "If you can trust your soul with me."

"I think I can." Hachirou reached into his deck, and retrieved Madness Pawn from it, handing it to Momoe. "Please, I ask nothing else of you." With that, he vanished.


	35. Chapter 35

**Clash In The Heavens, The Sun and Moon

* * *

**

"I wouldn't have expected you as my opponent." Junko Makita said as she looked upon her fellow Ra Yellow, Daiki Kobayashi. His sharp expression was reflected in the lake as he stood next to it.

"I myself had no expectations of who I'd face." Daiki Kobayashi said as he looked past Junko. "It doesn't matter who I face now; I know the truth that Amon concealed from me, from all of us, and I know what to take from that." He focused his gaze upon his reflection in the water. "At our core, we're all exactly the same. Our differences emerge solely from the choices we make, from our desires to be different from one another. And it is exactly that, that desire to stand apart, the desire to be above or below another, that has led to all this suffering." He turned, and faced Junko directly as he armed his duel disc. "I'll clear the field, return the human condition back to basics, and ensure that nothing like this can ever happen again."

"As though you're the first person to think that way?" Junko armed her duel disc. "Like you're the first person to think that they can single-handedly change everything, and force the whole world to live by their vision?" She scowled at Daiki. "I fell victim to the Association of Light before. I won't let your half-formed plans get anywhere near that far!" She drew her cards, and smiled confidently. "I summon Bountiful Artemis in defense, and set four cards to end my turn." The synthetic angel hovered protectively over Junko, its body draped around hers while careful not to obstruct her view of her opponent.

"As though you have the power to stop me." Daiki drew his next card, and a brilliant light began to shine on Junko's side of the field.

"You've no idea the kind of power I can bring to bear, but you're about to learn; during your standby phase, I activate my permanent trap card, Synthetic Seraphim, allowing me to special summon one Synthetic Seraphim token every time I activate a Counter Trap card."

"As though my wolves would fall to such reactionary tactics. First, I summon Wolf from my hand, and then I activate Plain Wolf's effect, special summoning it when I control a monster with 'Wolf' in it's name." As the second wolf, sleek and light of fur, rushed onto the field, it's advance was halted by the sound of thunder.

"Counter Trap, Black Horn of Heaven, I negate your special summon and destroy your monster." As Plain Wolf's being was shattered, both Bountiful Artemis and Synthetic Seraphim glowed as they activated their effects. Junko drew a new card, while a Synthetic Seraphim token appeared on her side of the field.

"And now I'll show you just how inadequate your trap was." As the sound of the horn faded, the howls of countless wolfs could be heard from across the lake. "When Plain Wolf is destroyed and sent to the grave by a card effect, I can special two 'wolf' monsters from my hand to the field. Come forth, Mountain Wolf and Arctic Wolf!" As both monsters appeared on the field, the air grew thick with bloodlust and vengeance. "Now, I activate Solidarity; so long as this permanent spell card is on the field, my monsters gain eight hundred attack points, so long as all the monsters in my grave are of the same type." All three of Daiki's monsters dug their claws into the ground, hunched down, and then leaped for the attack.

"Counter Trap, Negate Attack!" A vortex of force appeared before Junko's side of the field, forcing Daiki's wolf pack back. At the same time, Bountiful Artemis and Synthetic Seraphim activated their effects once more. "Sorry, but there's no way my shining soul will ever be blotted out by those dueling tactics."

"That's right," Daiki Kobayashi said, his expression becoming even sharper. "Your power…wasn't it Takara Yoshida who kept trying to recruit you for her 'Amon's Army'? And just why do you suppose she wanted that power of yours?" He paused, waiting for Junko to respond.

"…She wanted me to fight other duelists in Amon's name, to bend the Dueling World to his will." What Takara wanted now, Junko couldn't say.

"Wrong." Daiki said, his eyes glinting with vindication. "She wanted your 'power' because that was the role that Amon had designated for her. He'd made the choice for her, and he conjured up the excuse of your 'power' to create her motivation. She would have that motivation, regardless of whether you had any exceptional power or not. Everything is how the powerful choose it to be, and I'll gain the power to change that truth. I set one card, and end my turn."

"No." Junko wasn't sure where it was coming from, but she felt a surge of confidence as she thought of what she was going to say. "Amon may have manipulated Takara, but he didn't create her 'truth' from whole cloth. The same goes for you, and all the others too." She drew her next card. "And my power is no illusion, no fiction created to advance Amon's narrative. I'll show you what I mean as I sacrifice both of my Synthetic Seraphim tokens to summon Neo-Parshath the Sky Paladin." Holy and inhuman, Neo-Parshath floated over the battlfield, towering over Daiki's monsters. "Neo-Parshath, attack Wolf!" Neo-Parshath drew one arm back, blade at the ready…

"Trap card activate, Diseased Vendetta!" Wolf began frothing at the mouth, it's wide open and bloodshot. "When you attack a Beast-type monster I control, It's attack power becomes equal to the sum of all the Beast Monsters I control." Wolf leaped forward with feral rage…

"Counter Trap, Trap Jammer!" An angel flew down from the heavens, bringing with it a brilliant shining light. It cleansed Wolf of its false strength, and then dived down into the grave. The moment Junko's discarded Shining Angel entered the grave, Artemis and Synthetic Seraphim activated their effects once more. Once they were done, Neo-Parshath had slain the Wolf, dealing 300 points of damage. "Furthermore, when Neo-Parshath does battle damage, I get to draw one card."

"Yes, that's right, just keep drawing cards, just keep propping yourself up with your selfish power. I know, and embrace the truth within the truth, and the united strength of the wolf pack will overcome."

"Maybe down here on Earth, but I'm going to take this duel up into the heavens; I discard Zeradias to add Sanctuary in the Sky to my hand, and activate it." The ground that Junko and Daiki stood upon ripped itself from the Earth, and rose above the clouds, where the sun shined brightest. "Here, I think you'll find that my Synthetic Angels reign supreme." Indeed, with Sanctuary in the Sky in effect, Neo-Parshath gained 300 attack points, the difference between Junko's life points, and Daiki's. "And now I'll set two cards, and end my turn."

"That was truly foolish of you, bringing the duel so high up." Daiki smiled, baring his canines as he did. "After all, there's more than just the sun in this domain." A chill wind passed over the field. "I activate Howl to the Moon, letting me draw one card for every 'Wolf' monster I control." Twin howls called to the moon, and a solar eclipse began to form. "Now, I activate Deep Hunger; if I control at least two 'Wolf' monsters, I can skip my battle phase to destroy one monster my opponent controls. Neo-Parshath, become a feast for the masses!" Arctic and Mountain Wolf's eyes glowed red, the same shade of red that was overtaking the sky…

"Counter Trap, Destruction Jammer!" The red sky was shattered, and the wolves lost their drive, their hunger. Once again, the holy call of Artemis and Synthetic Seraphim was answered, Junko's hand and field replenished. "Sorry, but it'll take more than that to eclipse my power."

"So it would seem." Daiki looked at the remaining card in his hand, his expression composed and controlled. "Since I can't enter my battle phase, I set one card, and end my turn."

"My turn, and I sacrifice both of my Synthetic Seraphim tokens to summon Majestic Mech Goryu to the field!" Reminiscent of the Light-End dragon, long and serpentine, a holy construct that shined with an inner light on par with Neo-Parshath's. "I switch Bountiful Artemis to attack position, and I'll Majestic Mech Goryu attack Arctic Wolf." Junko's monster flew down and shot out a pillar of light from its mouth, obliterating Arctic Wolf for 900 points of damage, increasing Neo-Parshath's power by the same amount. "Neo-Parshath, slay Mountain Wolf." With its great heavenly blade, it skewered Daiki's monster, dealing 1500 points of damage and drawing one card. "And now, I'll have Artemis attack directly." The final Synthetic Angel charged its attack, drawing on the power of the sun…

"Trap card activate, Famine's Feast." A foul wind blew across the field, kicking up sand that was not there a moment ago. "If I am targeted by a direct attack that would reduce my life points to zero, I negate that attack, end the battle phase, and special as many 'Wolf' monsters from my grave as possible." Four wolves appeared on the field, and Plain Wolf lead the others in howling to the unseen moon. "Now, I activate Plain Wolf's final effect; when special summoned from the grave, I can sacrifice it to destroy a number of monsters on the opponent's side of the field equal to the remaining number of 'Wolf' monsters on my side of the field." But before the others could leap into the fray…

"Counter-Trap, Divine Wrath." Hecatrice appeared momentarily before being discarded to the grave, and Plain Wolf gave its life for nothing.

"Counter, counter, counter…is that really all the power you have?" Daiki looked upon Junko dismissively, as though she were a bit of dirt caught between his toes. "All your 'power' is purely reactionary, dependent on the opponent to feed into it. That's not the sort of power that can change the world, not even a little."

"If you can still be that confident in your condition, go ahead and try." Despite the confidence in her voice, Junko could feel the hair rising on the back of her neck. No matter what she did in this duel, no matter what she said, none of it seemed to have any impact on him or his soul. "I set one card, and end my turn."

"And now I will finish this; I activate Bloody Spirit Fangs, removing all my Wolves on the field from play, and dealing damage to you equal to their combined attack power." Daiki's wolf pack was beginning to shed the mortal coil…

"Counter Trap, Dark Bribe." The wolves were trapped in their bodies, their spirits unable to follow their heart's desires. But the moment Daiki accepted the card offered by Dark Bribe, he smiled.

"You've done well, but here is the limit of your power; I activate Natural Clarity, allowing me to add one card from my grave to my hand when I control three 'Wolf' monsters. I choose Howl to the Moon, and activate it, allowing me to draw three cards since I control three Wolfs. Next, I activate my Field Spell card, Inconstant Moon, destroying your Field Spell card in the process." The duel was brought crashing back down to Earth, the lake reflecting a cascade of images as the moon could not settle on any one phase. "Next, I summon Cave Wolf from my hand, and activate Primal Potential; during this battle phase, when a 'Wolf' monster attacks an opponent's monster, the damage step is skipped, and that monster is destroyed automatically. Furthermore, Inconstant Moon allows my 'Wolf' monsters to attack twice during the battle phase, albeit only dealing half battle damage each time."

"Unfortunately, not quite enough." Daiki's wolf pack advanced, and in a furious coordinated assault, they cleared Junko's field, and between the attacks of Mountain, Arctic, and Cave Wolf, Junko had only 1000 life points remaining. "However, since all three of Arctic, Mountain, and Cave Wolfs have done battle damage, you will have no chance of victory; Arctic Wolf's effect prevents you from activating your spell cards until my next standby phase, Mountain Wolf does the same for your trap cards, and Cave Wolf negates your monster effects during the same time. My Wolf Pack has claimed everything for itself, leaving nothing for you to use for your own. I end my turn, for all the good it will do you."

"My turn." Junko sighed in resignation as she looked at the three cards in her hand. Athena, Valhalla Hall of the Fallen, and Seven Tools of the Bandit. "I end my turn." No point in attempting a bluff, she would face her defeat with dignity.

"Good, now you are forced to the truth behind all truths." Daiki's monsters all attacked at once, tearing into Junko relentlessly. "When next you awaken, you will no longer be the false you that you've propped up through false choices." Daiki's monsters vanished, taking most of Junko's body with them.

"You may have gotten past me," Junko said as she held up the Athena card in her hand, "but don't be surprised if my Soul Card stabs you in the back." With the last of her strength, she threw Athena to him, and just before her vision faded, she saw him catch it; even now, he dared not break the rules that Kouyou Hibiki had laid down, and risk losing everything he dueled for.

And then, silence.


	36. Chapter 36

Death and Undeath, the Paths of the Grave

* * *

"Yuuto Inoue." Daichi Misawa stood in the Duel Academia library, and looked down upon Yuuto, who stood on the lower level. "I'm glad that you're my opponent, as there's quite a bit we need to resolve between us."

"You want revenge for my duel against your friend, Momiji Todo?" Yuuto spoke without shame, without regret. "Even though you know my actions against him were Amon's workings?"

"Not just that." Misawa reached the stairs, and began to make his way down, never taking his eyes off his opponent. "There is also the matter of all the people you injured or killed at the Kaiba Corp tower." With that, the focus in Yuuto's eyes wavered.

"Now you know that wasn't what I intended…" He gripped the side of his head, and the area around him began to warp, distort. "Even with my memories altered, he still had to deceive me…and he deceived Haruka Endo as well." Her image appeared, stretched out like something out of cubist painting. "We just wanted to show the power of our research, our theories. You can understand that, right, Daichi Misawa?"

"I do understand what it feels like to be manipulated, to be so fixated on achieving a certain ambition, a certain recognition, that you end up doing great harm to yourself and those around you." Misawa was now at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes on level with Yuuto's. He remembered how he'd dueled the Mirage of Deceit back in his first year at Duel Academia. "The difference is in how you pick yourself back up afterwards, what you learn from the experience. I might be wrong, but you still want to advance your research, don't you?"

"Of course I do." As he spoke, the distortions in the mental space around him began to dissipate. "Alfred Nobel regretted the military applications of TNT, Albert Einstein regretted the development of the Atom Bomb, but their works were too important to be stopped by their guilt." The warped image of Haruka vanished. "So long as I can keep control of my work, I can keep the lives lost because of it from being in vain." The ground Yuuto stood upon was now firm.

"That's quite unfortunate." Misawa armed his duel disc. "I'd hoped we could have come to an understanding before this duel. As is, I'll harbor no regrets, and seek to end this duel as quickly and decisively as possible."

"As though your Undead deck could possibly equal the speed and power of my Machines." Yuuto armed his duel disc in turn. "Face it Misawa, my work is the future, and the God Card is the means by which it will be fulfilled." He drew his cards, and seized the first turn. "Heh, I've already drawn exactly the hand I'd need to finish you on my next turn. First, I summon Ein Roid in defense, and then I set one card to end my turn." A small robot with two sections like shields appeared on the field, oddly large eyes peering out at Misawa.

"Really?" Misawa grinned. "The exact hand you needed? So if you lose that one opportunity, you'll lose everything?"

"What are you getting at?" Yuuto could not help but look nervously as Misawa drew his next card.

"I'm just saying that if that is the limit of your strength, than you've already lost; I activate Card Destruction, forcing us both to discard our hands and draw new ones." As Misawa took his new hand, he saw that one of the cards that Yuuto had been forced to discard was Overload Fusion. "Interesting. But I'm sure there was more to your strategy then just that one card. Now, I activate Necromancer's call, discarding Gozuki and Mezuki from my hand to add two Undead monsters from my deck to my hand of levels two or lower. I choose King of Skull Servants and Wightmare, both level one. Then I play Foolish Burial, sending a Skull Servant from my deck to my grave. And now, I summon my King of Skull Servants to the field."

Ponderously the Undead lord arose, and as it did, its frame was filled with dire necrotic power. "I have two Skull Servants, one King of Skull Servants, and one Lady in Wight in my grave. This will give King of Skull Servants on the field four thousand attack points. Now, I activate the permanent spell card Immortal Underworld Cannon; once per turn, when an Undead is special summoned to my side of the field, you take eight hundred points of damage. To fulfill that condition, I remove Mezuki in my grave from play to special summon my other King of Skull Servants to the field." As the second king entered the field, a cannon of pale white skulls and bones fired at Yuuto, an ectoplasmic skull that dealt 800 points of damage to him. The second King drained a meager portion of the first King's power, bringing both their attack powers to 3000.

"And now to discover the rest of your strategy. My first King of Skull Servants, attack!" Misawa's monster advanced. It grabbed Ein Roid in its hand, and held it in the air. As it began to apply pressure…

"Trap card activate, Supercharge!" Yuuto called out, his face twisted in anger and determination. "When a Vehicroid monster I control is attacked, I get to draw two cards." Ein Roid then exploded, unable to endure King of Skull Servants power any longer. "Furthermore, when Ein Roid is destroyed and sent to the grave, I can send two Vehicroid monsters from my deck to the grave." But as yet more machines entered the grave, the second King of Skull Servants attacked Yuuto directly. It squeezed at his chest, bringing him down to a meager 200 life points.

"So that's what your strategy was; you were going to use Ein Roid's effect to fuel Overload Fusion and summon a high level Fusion Machine monster…an appropriately reckless and destructive strategy." Misawa chuckle. "But, to draw upon the power of the grave, is to draw upon the strength of the dead past. It means recognizing and respecting what came before, and discovering the wisdom hidden within folly. Your dream of recklessly rushing onward, heedless of the costs in the name of 'honoring' those who've suffered because of that…it is the worst possible dream to bring against mine."

"Yours?" Yuuto was plainly indignant, his eye twitching. "You can't be serious. My grand dream, my vision, is to fall against yours…what the hell is your dream in the first place?"

"It isn't obvious?" Misawa shrugged his shoulders. "I wish to know more. More about the soul, and what it is capable of. I wish to know the proper way to use Duel Monsters to refine people's souls, so that we may all be wise. The God Card seems a good of achieving that end, so for as long as that opportunity stands before me, I will reach for it, and take it."

"That's what I'm losing to?" Yuuto said as he stared blankly ahead, looking past Misawa. "All the lives that were lost, because I couldn't see the strings that moved me like a puppet, that loss is to go unredeemed, because of a dream like that?" Misawa felt the hair on the back of his neck rise, and in the corner of his eye, he could see many spirits of the departed. "No." As Yuuto drew his next card, the ground around him began to crack. "Too much has been lost already, I can't insult their sacrifices now!" Out through the windows, the trees began to rot. "I summon Expressroid, activating its effect to return two Vehicroid monsters in my grave to my hand." A bullet train rushed in between the two duelists, and Misawa had to step back to avoid being run over. "Now, I activate Fusion, sending Expressroid, along with four other Vehicroid monsters in my hand to the grave, to fusion summon Extreme Fighting Machine King Valvaroid!"

Lightning crashed down, obliterating the library and all that it held, save for the duelists and their monsters. Valvaroid was a massive behemmoth of advanced technology, and did not hesitate to drain its environment to fuel its impressive 4000 attack points. "Valvaroid, attack the first King of Skull Servants." It rolled up to the undead lord, and brought down such a cacophony of explosions that not even ash was left behind, dealing 1000 points of damage. "Furthermore, when Valvaroid destroys a monster by battle, you take an additional 1000 points of damage." Lightning rained down upon Misawa, but as he endured it, the aura of the Nine-Tailed Fox appeared, sparing him from the worst of it.

"Thank you." Misawa called out to the monster of his soul, what the Ancient Egyptians of the Pharaoh Atem's court would have called his Ka. "Now," Misawa loudly called out, pointing to his Immortal Underworld Cannon, "I remove a Skull Servant in my grave from play, activating King of Skull Servant's effect and special summoning it back to the field." Nothing happened.

"The monster destroyed in battle by Valvaroid, can't activate its effect. Furthermore, Valvaroid can attack twice during the battle phase." But as it advanced upon the second King of Skull Servants, it laughed, for with its fellow monarch back among the departed, its attack power now equaled Valvaroid's. "And now, I play my Quick-Spell, Machine Advance; on the turn a machine type monster I control destroyed an opponent's monster by battle, I can increase my monster's attack power by one thousand." With one final surge of strength, the new battle played out exactly as the old, but this time when the lightning hammered down on Misawa, he did not get back up.

"Damn." Misawa muttered to himself in resignation. "Who knows?" Misawa retrieved the Nine-Tailed Fox that was on top of his deck. "Maybe you winning won't be so bad." He tossed his Soul Card to Yuuto, who accepted it grimly. "Just remember, I'll be watching, and if I think you're dishonoring the past to advance your future."

"I'm not, and I won't." Yuuto watched as Misawa vanished. "You'll see, all these sacrifices, they won't be in vain."


	37. Chapter 37

Sin Shall Sink in the Sanzu.

* * *

"So you're my opponent?" Asuka Tenjouin said as she stood on the docks beneath the lighthouse, looking directly at Takara Yoshida.

"Looks like." Takara said with a casual shrug. "Works out pretty well for me; even if I lose, I know you'll go on to fulfill my dream, so I don't have to worry about this duel."

"I take it you're not talking about that 'Amon's Army'…!" Asuka was silenced by Takara's seething glare.

"Don't you dare remind me of that." Takara's fist was shaking. "The very thought that I would try to help that man, it makes me want to retch. A man?" She shook her head as she chuckled darkly. "No, a demon in human flesh, that's what he is." Then she looked Asuka in the eye. "But I don't need to convince you of that; he's brought down so much suffering onto your friends, onto you, onto the one you love, you must want to kill him even more than I do." She then armed her duel disc. "Come on, let's find out who'll be the one to execute that monster."

Asuka silently looked upon Takara, saw into the bloodlust within her eyes. "I'm sorry, but while I do intend to stop Amon, make him pay for what he's done…" The memory of Daitokuji as he sacrificed himself for her passed through her mind. The sight of that man that she'd hated unreservedly for so long, his back to her as he took the fatal blow intended for her…"The wrong thing done for the right reason is still wrong." Asuka armed her duel disc in turn. "If I fell to the same temptation of sin that you've fallen to, then it really wouldn't matter who won this duel."

"Sin?" Takara looked askance at Asuka. "Demanding an eye for an eye is a sin? No, I'm not even demanding that much; after everything he's done to everyone, bringing him a swift and painful death is practically an act of mercy." Now she faced Asuka head on. "Whatever reason you have to stand in the way of that, it doesn't make a difference to me; if you won't carry my dream for me, than I will crush you with absolute force."

"Then it's a good thing I'm prepared for an opponent as determined as you." Now it was the memory of Echo that Asuka saw. "I'll face you, and everyone else, with the same determination." As she drew her card, took the first turn, Asuka felt that her brother Fubuki was with her. "I summon Ritua Abyss to the field." At first, it appeared as though a shark was swimming up to the docks, but once it reached its destination, it emerged, revealing a humanoid body with the head of a shark, the rest of its body trailing down like long, unkempt hair. "When summoned to the field, I can choose a Ritua monster from my deck with one thousand defense points or less, and add it to my hand. I choose Ritua Sign." One of the cards halfway down her deck began to glow, and Asuka retrieved it. "Now I set three cards, and end my turn."

"Ritua?" Takara spoke with a small smile, one that showcased the canines. "An obvious play on Ritual. Unfortunately for you, I have exactly the worst monster for a deck like yours to face right in my hand." The air became thick and heavy. "I discard Number Twenty, Number Four, Number Three, and Number One to special summon from my hand Awakened One." A shell of wind rushed out, and even though Asuka braced against it, she feared that she would be blown into the water. Then it stopped, and there it stood; it was a woman, utterly bare, utterly demonic. Wings emerged from her back, made of flesh as opposed to feathers. Her arms were twisted things, literally so. And from her head emerged a single horn, the final touch to the twisted mockery that its very existence embodied.

"Now, for every monster I discarded for its summon, the Awakened One gains one thousand attack points." Takara's monster had the same smile on its face that Takara did as it flexed its arms, drawing upon all its strength. "And now I activate Blade of the Arm to destroy your Ritua Abyss." The Awakened One's arm suddenly whipped out, far faster than the eye could see, becoming as a blade as it did.

"Permanent Trap card activate, Forgotten Temple of the Deep!" A pillar of water shot up as the ground shook, throwing the Awakened One's balance off. Ritua Abyss then dived into that water, beyond the Awakened One's reach. "Once per turn, during either player's turn, I can remove from play one level four or lower Water attribute monster I control on the field from play."

"That so?" The Awakened One was no upon Asuka, having advanced far faster than her eyes could follow. "Since you were prepared to save your monster no matter what, you clearly have something in mind to save yourself with." Awakened One raised her arm. "Let's find out what." The Awakened One brought her fist down like a meteorite, creating a huge crater before Asuka. However, the blow did not reach her. Again and again the monster struck, and again and again, an unseen force prevented her from doing so.

"You were right; by discarding Kuriboh, I reduce the damage I take from one attack to zero." Asuka spoke with a calm that only served to further enrage and outrage Takara's monster. "Now, since you've played all your cards, I'll take my turn, and start by summoning Ritua Sign to the field." It leaped up from the water, rolled up into a ball, bringing its feet out for the landing. Another fish man like the one before it, though this one was an Angler Fish instead of a shark.

"And now you learn the real danger of the Awakened One." A long, thin tentacle erupted from the tip of the Awakened One's horn, and stabbed Asuka right in the arm. "Every time you summon a monster to the field, Awakened One will deal eight hundred points of damage to you." Takara watched as Asuka winced from the pain. "Three more summons; that's all you can hope for. If you can't defeat me by then…" Takara left the rest unspoken, letting Asuka fill in the rest for herself.

"Only three summons?" Asuka smiled at that. "Oddly enough, that's exactly what I had planned." Takara's eyes narrowed. "I activate Forgotten Temple of the Deep's effect, and remove Ritua Sign from play." Before it departed though, it shined its light upon Asuka's deck, causing a card one-fourth of the way down to glow. "When Ritua Sign leaves the field, I can add one Ritual Spell Card or Ritual Monster from my deck to my hand. I choose Cyber Angel Dakini." Asuka took the card, and then waited. Gradually, the water over the temple began to rise, becoming level with the docks. "And now, during my end phase, all the monsters I removed from play through Forgotten Temple of the Deep's effect are now special summoned back to my field." The explosion of water as Asuka's monsters emerged from the depths created a momentary rainbow. It was destroyed the moment the Awakened One activated her effect, targeting each of Asuka's legs, dealing 1600 points of damage total.

"An interesting boast to make." Takara said, her smile returned, undisturbed. "You place your faith in a Goddess that you hope to summon. Such faith in powers unseen, such hope for promises yet to be fulfilled…" She paused to breathe in, deep breaths… "Naiveté, foolishness…" Her breathing grew harder, more labored. "If you don't have the resolve to kill, if you honestly think that some divine miracle, some deus ex machina will come down from the heavens and free you from that responsibility…" One final sharp intake of breath. "Then I can't let you walk away from this duel."

"Damn." Asuka muttered to herself; she had to end this duel as quickly as possible. "Since I summoned Ritua Abyss, I now add Ritua Scale from my deck to my hand." This card came from the very bottom of her deck.

"And now I will show you how worthless your naïve hope truly is. Awakened One, attack Ritua Abyss." In the moment that the Awakened One struck, her whole body became encased in ice.

"Trap card activate, Freezing of God!" The ice shattered, but the Awakened One was plainly distraught. "When I control two Water attribute monsters, I can negate the effect of my opponent's monster until the end phase of the turn." Takara's monster paused, unsure how to proceed without its power, it's effect being the source of all its strength. Ritua Abyss, however, knew exactly what to do.

"Quick-spell, Armor of the Chest!" Suddenly the Awakened One's body became as hard as diamond, and while Takara suffered the damage from Ritua Abyss's assault, her monster felt nothing at all. "If a monster I control would be destroyed, I negate that destruction and draw one card." Soft, benign, and unfeeling was the smile on the Awakened One's face as Takara drew her next card. "I set one card, and end my turn." the Awakened One felt warmth and vitality return to her, and with it came her strength, exceeding that of all of Asuka's goddesses.

"My turn." She drew her card, though in this case it was a mere ritual motion; everything had already been gathered, prepared, planned. "The force of your rage may be great, but that also makes it very easy to read."

"So what?" Takara gripped her fist tight. "I'd rather be straightforward and honest, than be anywhere near the level of that deceptive little worm Amon."

"And you think killing him will make you better than him?" Asuka could see it in her eyes, like a dam that was about to burst.

"I already told you! Killing him is better than he deserves; I ought to leave him in a state of abject misery and pain, I ought to have him be put on display like a circus freak, and be made to endure countless indignities." And then…she seemed spent. "But so long as he lives, so long as that man exists, I know he can recover. No matter what I come up with to contain him, to restrain him, I know it will never be outside of his ability to escape. If he does, if he finds me again while I think I'm free of him…" Her breathing grew hoarse.

"I understand." Asuka took one of the cards from her hand, its back facing Takara. "That fear and terror…" Once more the image of Daitokuji came to mind. Asuka banished him with a breath. "It's funny, but I think that this was why Kouyou chose for us to duel."

"What?" Takara's eyes snapped open, wide and blood shot. "How could I let you trick me like that? Of course you're trying to stop me," she said more to herself than to Asuka. "Kouyou wants Judai to gain the God Card, and you love Judai, so you just want to stop me and everyone else, to make it easier for him! So go ahead, play that card, summon your goddess, and witness for yourself how worthless and meaningless your efforts are."

"All right then." Asuka hardened her heart as she played her card. "I activate Machine Angel Ritual, sacrificing both Ritua Abyss and Ritua Sign on my field, along with Ritua Scale in my hand, to Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Dakini from my hand!" Holy light shined down upon all three monsters, sending their souls to the depths of the ocean while providing the path for Dakini's descent.

"And now your defeat!" The Awakened One's eyes turned black as the tentacle once more emerged, stabbing Asuka in her other arm. "I activate my trap card, Sight of the Murderer; when you summon a monster while I control a Number monster or the Awakened One, I can destroy that monster and deal one thousand points of damage to you." Awakened One leaped forward, arms spread out to embrace Dakini and crush her.

"Ritua Scale's effect." Cyber Angel Dakini swung her blades out, severing the Awakened One's arms. "The Ritual Monster summoned using this as its sacrifice, can't be destroyed by spell, trap, or monster effects." Dakini, wielding her staff with her other two arms, punched right through the Awakened One's stomach. "When Dakini is summoned, I destroy one monster of your choice." Dakini swept away the Awakened One, now a mere corpse. "Finally, I activate my trap card, Rage of the Sanzu River." The water all around both duelists turned blood red. "I choose one monster I control, and that monster gains seven hundred attack points for every Water Attribute monster in my grave." Dakini, now armed with 4800 attack points, stood at the ready, awaiting Asuka's order to finish the duel.

Takara's face was screwed up tight with silent fury as she fell to her knees. "Damn it." She looked down at the ocean, at her distorted reflection in the unholy waters. "Go ahead. Finish it."

"…Junko Makita." Asuka said, watching for Takara's reaction.

"What about her?" She looked up at Asuka, unsure, uncertain.

"You wanted to make her a part of Amon's Army. You were convinced that her strength and power was what you needed. Why?"

"You…you know exactly why. Amon…he…" Her voice shook, trembled.

"No." Asuka shook her head. "I don't believe that, and more importantly, you don't either. Your duel has shown me more about the truth of your heart than you realized." Takara narrowed her eyes at this statement. "You were lonely. Amon seized upon that and twisted it to serve his own ends, but in your heart of hearts, you wanted friends to call your own, friends you could count on no matter what. Junko, she was the one you saw as your true friend, even if you couldn't realize it at the time."

"I have to admit, that would make sense." Takara laughed a hollow, chilling sound. "I guess you do deserve to win this duel."

"All right. Dakini, end this." She struck with all the speed of the divine, and vanished, taking with her the waters of the Sanzu.

Asuka walked up to Takara, and held her hand out.

"…Thank you." It was curt, to the point. Takara handed her Awakened One card to Asuka, and vanished.


	38. Chapter 38

The Eye of the Storm

* * *

"And that concludes the first round of the tournament." Kouyou Hibiki said as Shou Marufuji, Rin Ito, Edo Phoenix, Shinji Kato, Jun Manjoume, Hachirou Sasaki, Junko Makurada, Daichi Misawa, and Takara Yoshida all collapsed at the same time. "Congratulations; those who are still standing, may proceed to the second round."

"You…what the hell did you do to them!" Haruka Endo screamed, snapping the rest of the group back to their senses, save Amon and Echo, who did not react at all.

"Nothing serious, I assure you." Kouyou spoke with a smooth, even tone. "They are merely exhausted. Once the tournament is over, they will recover. But you don't need to take my word for it." He held his hand out, and snapped his fingers. Judai Yuki, Rei Saotome, Momiji Todo, Echo, Emi Tanaka, Momoe Hamaguchi, Daiki Kobayashi, Yuuto Inoue, and Asuka Tenjouin were all blinded by revelation, the visceral knowledge of what had transpired in all the duels they didn't see for themselves.

"The True King?" Asuka said as she turned to face Echo. "That's why you're doing all this?" Her glare was joined by that of the rest of the group, save Momiji and Yuuto who shared their glares with one another.

"Yes." Echo said as Amon looked upon Kouyou, a neutral expression on her face. "The Amon that you've seen, the face that you've come to know, is merely a mask that he's been forced to wear in the service of the Garams. When I obtain the God Card for him, you will see him as he truly is and rejoice at his coming."

"Is that so?" Asuka turned her attention to Amon, who met her gaze in turn.

"It is, though Echo may have overstated the matter. After all, in my eyes, she is perfect, and in her eyes, I." He lightly chuckled, and spoke to Kouyou. "So, shall we advance directly to the second round, Kouyou?"

"I don't blame you for wanting the God Card as quickly as possible," Kouyou said, his breath slightly labored, "But I must insist on a short recess." He then turned to Judai. "Ten minutes. That should be enough time for you and your friends to take your fallen comrades to the nurse's office where they can rest in comfort."

Judai held his fists at his side, then got down on his knee to pick up Shou. He held him over his shoulder like a firefighter, and looked Kouyou in the eye. Then he looked to his friends and former enemies as they each took their opponents off the ground, and they walked past Kouyou as they made their way to Head Nurse Ayukawa's office.

"It's okay Judai. I understand." Kouyou said, now alone, now able to let the illusion drop, if only for a moment as he slumped down against the nearby pillar.

* * *

"Well, it seems that Kouyou was speaking the truth." Emi Ayukawa said as she finished her survey of the fallen students. "I'll take a closer look of course, but for now bed rest appears to be all they need."

"Thank you so much, Head Nurse Ayukawa." Rei Saotome said with her head bowed, her youthful face lined with worry over Rin Ito. "I promise you Rin, by the time you wake up, I'll have found my dream."

"I know you will, Rei." Asuka said as she put her hand on Rei's shoulder. Rei looked up into Asuka's eyes, and the worry faded from her own as she nodded. Together, they left the nurse's office.

"It is indeed unfortunate that all this suffering and torment has been necessary to reach this point." Amon said in a tone that was haunted with memory as he held Echo in his arm. "Once Echo has earned the God Card for me, I shall know exactly how to bring an end to all this misery and lamentation."

"You could start by not inflicting it on others." Momoe Hamaguchi said with a voice laced in ice as she left Hachirou Sasaki's side. "You can act like you feel our pain, you can share your sob story all you want, but so long as you keep exploiting and taking advantage of everyone around you, it won't mean a damn thing."

Echo was about to advance upon Momoe, but Amon's grasp assured her this was not necessary. "I can not begrudge you for feeling that way; as a duelist, you are a slave to your passions, to your desire for battle. I can only hope in the end that I can give you and everyone else cause to change your minds about me."

"You call us slaves to our passions." Momiji Todo said, matter of fact. "Yet you are utterly dependent on us to achieve your ambitions, your own passions." He then made his way to the door. "At the very least, you recognize your dependence on Echo's love for you. Else, you would never have made it this far." With that, he departed to return to Kouyou's battlefield.

"That's right." Haruka Endo said, looking past Amon and Echo, and right at Judai. "You are dependent on us all." She left, but not before shooting one last glare at Judai, who was far too focused on Shou and Midori to notice.

"I won't let this slow me down." Yuuto Inoue said with more force in his voice than necessary. "We're all in this far too deep to stop now." With that, he was gone. Daiki Kobayashi took off as well without saying a word, not even sparing a glance to Shou or Junko or anyone else.

"Manjoume." Emi Tanaka said, her voice choked in sadness. "You and Ryoko, I will justify your faith in me." She stormed out, eager for the release of battle, of the duel.

"Well, I'll see you again soon, Junko." Momoe said, having moved to Junko's side, kissing her goodbye.

"How very interesting the path of a duelist is." Amon said with a chuckle as he turned his attention to Judai. "Make sure you get back on time." He and Echo reached the door. "After all, both Midori and Kouyou are counting on you." Judai showed no sign of response, and now only he and Ayuakwa were the only conscious people in the room.

"Judai." Head Nurse Ayukawa spoke firmly, claiming Judai's attention. "This isn't your place, anymore than the battlefield is mine."

"I…I know that." Judai said, his body as tense as his voice. "It's just, no matter how many times this sort of thing happens, it never gets any easier." Ayukawa could see it in his eyes, the visceral reality of the situation, so much worse than mere abstract fears and what ifs.

"Well, in a way that's a good thing." Judai's eyes grew wide, confused as he focused his attention entirely on Ayuakawa. "This pain in your heart isn't something that you should ever be used to, and with so many friends still here to help you, still here to believe in you, you shouldn't have to."

That seemed to work, Judai loosened up and bowed to Ayukawa. "Thank you Head Nurse Ayukawa. Please, take care of Shou and Midori and everyone else for me, okay?"

"Always have, always will." With that, she watched him rush out of the room to rejoin the others for what she could only hope would be their final battle.

* * *

"Ah, here you are." Fubuki Tenjouin said, his usual gregarious tone lost as he and Ryoko arrived at the site of Kouyou's tournament at the same as Judai. "The most obvious place was the right place after all, eh Ryoko?"

"You were right, Fubuki." She spoke with a mild tone of amusement, but that faded the moment she noticed Shou's absence. She looked Kouyou in the eye, letting her question hang in the air.

"He is fine, as I've had to assure the others many time." Kouyou stood tall and proud, a pillar of strength. He then turned his focus to Fubuki. "Manjoume is also well, but you'll have to wait before seeing him again." Fubuki blushed, a rare occurrence indeed. Kouyou then turned to Judai, a smile on his face like no other. "Now that we're all here, rested and ready, we can begin the second round. Unlike the previous round, I'll not be choosing your opponents; instead, the first to declare a challenge will be granted their choice of opponent."

"Than I choose you, Judai!" Haruka Endo yelled out with force that shook everyone present.

"I will defeat Asuka Tenjnouin." Daiki Kobayashi said as he stepped into position.

"Rei, I would appreciate it if you were my opponent." Emi Tanaka said, somewhat awkward but no less strong for it.

"Echo, you and me." Momoe Hamaguchi called out as she armed her duel disc.

"I guess that just leaves you and me, Momiji Todo." Yuuto Inoue said, manic energy flowing through his being.

"That's how I would have chosen it." The neutrality of Momiji's voice bore with it an undercurrent of vendetta.

"Then let the second round begin." With that, Kouyou snapped his fingers, sending the duelists to their chosen battlefields.


	39. Chapter 39

The Truth of Burdens

* * *

"Everyone…" Judai shook his head, reminding himself that this place was just an illusion. Still, surrounded as he was by all his friends and classmates, their icy glares upon him, it wasn't a feeling he could banish with his rational mind.

"So this was the Association of Light?" Haruka Endo looked all around at the countless students in the stands, each one proudly wearing the white armband of the Association of Light. "Good." She held an eager smile on her face as she spoke. "Now the whole arena is suffused with my desire to see you crushed until not even a speck of your being remains."

"What?" Haruka's declaration broke Judai's sense of shock, only to replace it with a far more immediate one. "I never did anything to you, we've never even met face to face before now, so why would you want to do something like that to me?"

"You're the reason why we've all lost control over our own fates." Haruka stepped forward, her glare growing in intensity. "Without you, Kouyou wouldn't have risen from the dead and given Amon Garam the impetus he needed to put this entire plan into motion, all for the sake of getting the God Card into your possession. If not for you, I could have developed the strength of my soul, and knew that it was born of my own will and desire." She armed her duel disc, her bearing like a blood knight. "Your very existence invalidates mine."

"Just by existing?" Judai could feel her glare, feel her desire to end him utterly. "No." He remembered his duel with Shou, and as he did, the image of him in the stands changed. It ceased to be hateful and contemptuous of him, now silently supportive, exactly what he needed. "My friends and I, we've all faced so many battles, so many duels over these past three years." Judai then felt Midori's soothing presence, and he knew that his heart would not falter, not against an opponent like this. "If I've learned anything, no matter what life throws at you, no matter how overwhelming life can get," Judai remembered all the trials, big and small, and how Asuka was there for each and every one of them. Her image in the stands abandoned its loathing, abandoned the armband of the Association of Light, and smiled upon him. "It's that being a duelist means facing yourself with the help of your friends. If you can't do that, the only person you can blame, is yourself!" Judai armed his duel disc, his eyes filled with the determination his friends and loved ones gave to him.

"Fine. Even if you refuse to accept responsibility for your existence, my duel will still cleanse you from this Earth." As she drew her card, a sinking sensation filled the arena. "I summon Heart of Ash, activating its effect to equip Heart of Axe from my hand." A pillar of fire erupted from the ground before Haruka, and from it emerged a humanoid figure; whatever it was before, Judai couldn't say, it's burned skin held the color and consistency of ash. It held its arm out, and in its hand appeared a massive, two-sided battle axe. "Now I activate my field spell card, Victorious Venue." The walls of the battlefield became adorned with weapons, while the sinking sensation yet continued.

"This is the card Misawa told me about." He could see Misawa giving him the thumbs up as he remembered this. "Our monsters have to be in attack position, can't be destroyed by battle, and we inflict double battle damage on one another."

"That's right." Haruka said, a knowing smirk on her face. "A duel where defense is impossible, a duel where hesitation becomes defeat. Only a soul that is pure in its strength can possibly seize victory in this venue; scraps of courage cobbled together will fall apart like a ramshackle house." She watched for a reaction from Judai, and found none. "I set three cards, and end my turn."

"All right, my turn." Judai drew his next card, and for a moment he saw Manjoume in Haruka's place. He could see it in his eyes, their mutual love for the duel beyond victory and defeat, and when Judai looked to the stands, that Manjoume had abandoned his armband as well. "I summon Elemental Hero Voltic and equip him with Parallel Support, removing Elemental Hero Heat in my deck from play to increase his attack power to nineteen hundred points." Voltic raised his hand, gathering electricity and fire in an unstable sphere. He prepared to launch that mass of volatile energy at Heart of Ash…

"Trap card activate, Determination without Cost." A shimmering aura surrounded Heart of Ash. "So long as this permanent trap card is on the field, every time a monster I control is attacked, and not destroyed by battle, I can draw one card." Voltic's attack connected with the aura and was absorbed by it before being shot back at Haruka with twice its original force. "Trap card activate, Ending to Beginning." Voltic's attack reappeared, right above Judai's head. "With this permanent trap card, every time I take battle damage, you take half in turn." Voltic's attack then crashed down on Judai like a meteorite. "And now Heart of Ash's effect applies." The scent of burnt flesh filled the air, and Voltic began to choke on it. "The monster that attacks Heart of Ash loses one thousand attack points."

"But I still get to activate Voltic's effect, and special summon the Elemental Hero Heat I removed from play." Voltic raised one weak hand, and slammed it into the ground, creating a hole. Heat reached out from that hole and pulled it open further. Once it stepped out, ready for battle, it stood before Voltic defensively.

"And now Heart of the Axe's effect applies." Heart of Ash held the axe up high, and between both heads, a black hole appeared. "Any attack position monster my opponent controls must attack the monster equipped with Heart of Axe." Drawn by that power, Heat had no choice but to abandon its comrade. "Furthermore, when you special summoned your monster, that triggered my permanent trap card, Call of Reinforcement; now I can special summon a monster from my deck with lower attack power than yours." Heart of Lance crashed down on the battlefield, embedding itself in the ground. Heat advanced regardless, and drove its fist right through Heart of Ash's stomach. The fire spread out over Haruka's body, and then reappeared on Judai's. When Heat retreated, it was sickly and weak, its internal fire almost gone.

"Even if you wear my monsters down, you'll never wear me down." The memory of Edo Phoenix, and the determination he'd found, was clear in Judai's mind. He too was in the stands, smiling upon Judai, and now the very ground they stood upon was shaking. "I set one card, and end my turn."

"A nice display of bravado, but your weakened monsters tell the real story." Haruka then drew her next card. "I summon Heart of Steel to the field, and activate Will to Live, allowing me to take Heart of Lance from the field and equip it to Heart of Steel." Heart of Steel appeared, took hold of Heart of Lance, and tore it from the ground, making it its own. "The monster equipped with Heart of Lance can attack twice during the battle phase. Heart of Steel, attack Voltic." Steel spun its Lance over its head, building up force. It charged, dragging a twisting current of air with it overhead. Upon reaching Voltic, Steel brought the Lance down and ran right through Voltic and into Judai. "And with this second attack, I finish this." Steel braced itself to attack Voltic from behind.

"Trap card activate, Hero Barrier!" Steel struck an invisible force field and was deflected back onto Haruka's side of the field. Judai could see it in his mind's eye, Junko and Momoe protecting each other with everything they had. As their smiling faces joined the crowd in the stands, it felt as though the very ground beneath them was going to fall away.

"Heart of Ash, attack!" Haruka yelled out, a frantic look in her eye. As Ash swung its Axe into Voltic, a great shockwave was released, knocking Judai off his feet. "You may have one hundred life points left," Haruka said, disdain now the dominant feature of her eyes, "but if you can't pick yourself back up on your own, it won't do you any good."

"That's okay." Judai said with a groan, a great deal of pain in his side. Still, he saw Rei standing above him, holding her hand out to him, so he put the pain out of his mind, reached out, and took her hand. "I'm never alone, even when on my own." Judai was back on his feet, and with the true Rei now in the stands, with all his true friends now there for him, it was as though some limit had been broken.

Cracks appeared in the air around Judai and Haruka, a bizarre and disturbing sight. They grew, the sound like glass shattering, and bit by bit shards of the environment in which the two duelists found themselves fell down and faded away. Bit by bit, the old arena fell away, revealing a new environment. It was dark, the lighting dim, and while Judai didn't recognize it, Haruka did.

"No." Haruka's eyes were filled with the sight of the familiar console before her. "No, we were in your nightmare…" her voice trailed off, her shallow and fast.

"This is Kaiba Corp." Judai said as the realization struck him, the realization of the true nature of where they were, the nature of the arena that Kouyou had chosen for them. "This is where you and Yuuto…"

"No!" Haruka yelled out, her breathing now slow and heavy. "We were Amon's mindless pawns…I was helpless to stop myself, no matter how little sense it made, no matter how suspicious it all was…" She looked down at her hands, forced them to stop shaking. "Now I get it." She looked up, looked Judai in the eye, her expression impossible to read. "Kouyou, he tried to lure me into a false sense of security." She chuckled, a laugh without mirth or malice. "I even said it before, you're the reason why Kouyou's done all this, so why shouldn't he warp all existence in your favor?" She then narrowed her glare, made it as sharp as a sword. "Go ahead, take your turn, see how far you can get when everything around you is conspiring to make you win."

Judai took in everything Haruka said, went over it carefully. "I will win, Haruka." Judai drew his card. "And when I do, I'll show you the way out of all this darkness." He looked at his hand, and acted. "I sacrifice Elemental Hero Heat and Elemental Hero Voltic to summon Elemental Hero Sunlight." As the new hero appeared, the dim room became flooded with light, and with that light, came the sight of the many bodies scattered throughout, their faces drawn in horror.

"A low blow, Kouyou." The impassive expression on her face seemed forced to Judai. "You and Amon arranged all this, and yet I'm the one who's supposed to feel guilty?"

"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty." Judai said, his fist gripped tight. "But if you keep trying to deny your own role in what happened, you'll never be able to overcome your burdens, you'll never be able to realize your true strength."

"A lecture in responsibility and strength? From you?" Her composure began to falter, but she quickly restored it. "That's as pathetic as that monster you summoned."

"Maybe now, but not for long; I discard Elemental Hero Obsidian from my hand to grant Sunlight the ability to inflict damage against a defense position monster, then I play Legacy of a Hero to draw two cards since I have two level four or higher elemental heroes in my grave, and now I remove all three heroes in my grave from play, increasing Sunlight's attack power by twelve-hundred points until the end of my turn." Sunlight held his hand out and gathered all the light in the room, creating a miniature sun. "Sunlight, attack Heart of Ash!" The concentrated shining sphere shot off towards its target, but stopped just before reaching it.

"By sending Call of Reinforcements to the grave, I can special summon a monster from my deck with zero attack points." Now it could be seen, the huge shield that appeared between Sunlight and Ash. "Now I activate Heart of Shield's effect, sacrificing it to reduce the battle damage I take by half," the intense light washed over Haruka as the Shield vanished, bringing Haruka down to 400 life points, "and now I can draw one card." She took her new card, examined it for a moment. "Did you see that, Kouyou?" She said, looking past Judai. "No matter what you try, you'll never make me your pawn again! And the same goes for you, Amon."

"Damn, she's this powerful, and she's not even dueling me." Judai muttered to himself, trying to see what it was that Haruka saw, the demons that haunted and hounded her at every step of the way. "I just have to keep on trying." He then raised his voice to address Haruka. "I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn." Haruka looked down at her newest card, and smiled. "I activate Will to Endure, allowing me to special summon Heart of Shield back to the field. Then I set one card, and sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon Heart of Death." Haruka's monsters vanished, and then a gaunt, giant figure appeared. Skin like night, eyes red like the sunset, it glared at Elemental Hero Sunlight, causing the hero to shrink in on itself. "Heart of Death has three thousand attack points, and so long as it is on the field, all other monsters have their attack power reduced to zero. Before my will, all my enemies will be reduced to nothing."

"But even if you do that, how does that raise you up." Judai said, standing his ground. "Misawa told me about your other monster, Heart of Gold, and how it expressed your philosophy of dueling perfectly."

"Shut up!" Haruka shouted, the tension in her face on the rise. "Your words, your actions, your entire existence, it's all worthless! Heart of Death, destroy him!" The primal giant advanced upon Elemental Hero Sunlight, and grabbed its whole body with one hand.

"Trap card activate, Victorious Dimension!" Judai called out as his hero vanished. "By removing one Elemental Hero I control from play, I negate your attack, end the battle phase, and draw one card." The Heart of Death lashed out in rage, attempting to crush Judai beneath its heel, but nothing came of it. "Now I set two cards, and end my turn."

"How transparently obvious can you be, Judai?" She said with a scoff as she drew her next card. "I play Will to Succeed, discarding Heart of Gold from my hand to destroy all your face-down cards."

"Damn!" Judai had hoped to wait for the right moment, but he had to act now, before losing everything. "I activate my spell cards, Flute of Summoning Kuriboh to special summon Winged Kuriboh from my deck, and Transcendent Wings, discarding two cards from my hand to sacrifice Winged Kuriboh for Winged Kuriboh Level Ten!" Light filled the room once more, but even that faded as Judai's monster shriveled up in the presence of Haruka's Heart of Death. Then Judai realized that Heart of Death was advancing to attack, even without Haruka's order to do so.

"Heart of Death's final effect." Haruka said with stifled emotion. "If I do not attack with it, I take damage equal to its attack power." Her lip was curled, her sniffling audible. "God damn it." She fell to her knees. "Does my will really amount to nothing? Is there nothing a normal person like me can do before a chosen one like this?"

"You're wrong!" Judai yelled out, and even Heart of Death paused. "It's not about being normal or being a chosen one. It's not about your existence, or what happens outside of your control."

"Of course you can say that, you're the one who's going to win."

"No, I'm not." Judai's focused gaze had Haruka's attention. "I'm going to tell you this now, so that maybe you'll believe me." Judai knew that Kouyou was listening, was going to hear exactly what he was about to say, but he didn't care; helping Haruka was far more important than hiding his plan from him. "If I reach Kouyou, I'm going to force a draw."

"A draw?" Haruka stared at Judai like he was a madman. "Then…the God Card, it wouldn't go to anyone."

"That's right, that's what…that's what I figured."

"So, you would reject that power that had been arranged just for you?" Judai nodded. "I see." Haruka wiped the nascent tears away, and stood back up. "Heart of Death!" Her voice commanded the creature, forced it to face her and not her opponent. "I have no more use for you. I forbid you to attack!"

Heart of Death's body shook uncontrollably, energy arcing all across its body. One bolt lanced over into Haruka, draining her of all her strength, causing her to collapse. "So this…is what my will can do." She looked up at Judai, who'd walked up to her. She then looked around herself, looked upon the bodies of the fallen all around her. "I'll have to develop it even further, if I want to come close to helping their families."

"I think that's a great thing to choose to do." Judai smiled as he held his hand out to her. She shook her head at him, pointing to her legs that were already vanishing.

"Here." She took out her Heart of Gold card from her grave, and with great effort put it into Judai's hand. "Here's hoping you can make good on that promise of yours." With that, she vanished, leaving Judai alone on the battlefield.


	40. Chapter 40

In the Eyes of God…

* * *

"This place…" Asuka Tenjouin recognized it instantly, the site of the Kaiba Corp Elite Virtual Realm Challenge's finals, a hall of mirrors who's reflections defied all the laws of physics. Opposite to her stood Daiki Kobayashi, and in accordance with how these mirrors worked, Asuka was surrounded by his many reflections, while he was surrounded by hers.

"This place is marvelous." Daiki said in a reverent tone as he ran his hand across the length of a nearby mirror. "A perfect encapsulation of everything I could ever hope for and more." He turned to Asuka, his smile baring his canines. "When I chose you for my opponent, I never imagined it would lead me to a place like this; I'd pictured a high mountain top from which you could look down on everyone, from which you could pass judgment on us all. But it would appear that in the depths of your soul, you know that I'm right, I am the one who's dream should be brought to life with the God Card."

"I can see where you're coming from on this," Asuka said with just a hint of poetic amusement. "But appearances can be deceiving." The memories of her time in the Association of Light appeared in her mind, and in the mirrors around Daiki, images of her standing disdainfully over Judai, over her opponents, over everyone. "It's easy to be convinced that you've figured it all out, that you know everything and it's all up to you to shepherd the ignorant masses." Now Daitokuji appeared behind Daiki, an appraising look in his eyes. "But no matter what it is you believe, if it means denying choice to those around you…" Asuka let her words trail as Amon Garam's image appeared before Daiki.

"No!" Daiki yelled out with a feral roar as he punched Amon's image, causing it to shatter into a thousand fragments. "I'm trying to stop that monster! I'm trying to stop there from ever being anyone like him ever again; how the hell can that possibly make me anything like him?" Daiki narrowed his eyes, and the images around him reverted back to the present Asuka. "But why should I be surprised? All you Obelisk Blues, you're all the same, too invested in your precious position at the top of your artificial hierarchy; even when the truth stares you in the face, you reinterpret it to protect your position, regardless of the damage this does to you and everyone else around you." He then armed his duel disc. "I won't stand for it, I won't stand by and let you perpetuate the system that lets people like Amon and Echo have their way."

"That's what it always comes down to, isn't it?" Asuka armed her duel disc. "These cards, the expressions of our souls, convictions, and beliefs. For us duelists, it seems to be the only way we can truly reach one another." A thought then occurred to her. "What about Shou? Didn't your duel with him convince you to rethink your beliefs on Obelisk Blue?"

"As though my true convictions could be so weak." Shou appeared for a moment, and vanished just as quickly. "Back when I didn't understand the true extent of the problem, his words and deeds were halfway convincing, but now I do know what is at stake in all this, and there is no excuse for Obelisk Blue or any other edifice of the false elite in the face of that." Daiki then drew his cards. "I summon Wolf in attack position, and set four cards to end my turn." Immediately, the wild beast howled, eager for the hunt."

"My turn." Asuka drew her card, saw her path. "I summon Cold Enchanter and discard two cards for her effect, placing two Ice Counters on her to increase her attack power to twenty-two hundred." Cold, piercing wind enveloped Asuka's monster, gathering at the end of her staff to become like a frozen blade. "Cold Enchanter, attack!"

"Trap card, Beast Soul Swap." Daiki's wolf leaped back to his hand, and was replaced by Arctic Wolf, forcing Cold Enchanter to pause in her assault. "Trap card activate, Encirclement; when I special summon a Wolf monster from my hand, I can special summon one from my deck." Cave Wolf landed onto the battlefield, its howl echoing with Arctic Wolf's. Seeing that there would be no more new monsters, Cold Enchanger made her attack against Arctic Wolf. "And now I activate Growl of the Enraged, increasing Arctic Wolf's attack power by Cold Enchanter's original attack power until the end of the battle phase." Cold Enchanter swung her frozen blade into Arctic Wolf's hide, but could not cut through. Arctic Wolf bit down on her staff, shattering it, and then leaped onto her, killing her for 600 points of damage. "And now permanent trap card activate, Feed Upon the Corpse; when a Beast Type monster destroys an opponent's monster by battle, I gain one thousand life points." Arctic Wolf fed on Cold Enchanter's remains, filling Daiki's being with vitality. "The unity of the wolf pack, that's the power you elitists can't hope to grasp, and the power that will crush all your twisted ambitions."

"That's your first mistake," Asuka said as she set two cards, "Underestimating your opponent because of who you associate her with."

"Hardly; Junko put up a far better fight, and she was a Ra Yellow like myself." Daiki drew his next card. "I now summon Wolf back to the field, and I'll have all three of my monsters attack you directly."

"Trap card activate, Meditation Technique of the Ceremonial Mirror." A clear pool of water appeared on the ground between Asuka and Daiki. "By revealing a Ritual Spell card in my hand, Ritual of Reflection, I can return two Ritua monsters in my grave back to my hand." Ritua Scale and Ritua Sign emerged from the depths and returned to Asuka's hand. "And now I activate my other trap card, Mirror Image." As Daiki's wolfs ran around the pool, the water suddenly froze. They paused to examine it, and flowing out of the pool emerged frozen duplicates of the wolfs. "By revealing two Water-attribute monsters in my hand, I can special summon Ice tokens equal in number and attack power to my opponent's monsters." The wolfs and their counterparts circled one another…

"I cancel my attack." Daiki's monsters returned to his side of the field, while Daiki himself flashed a feral grin. "And activate Ravenous Slaughter, allowing me to destroy one monster per Wolf I control, and deal three hundred points of damage for each one." With new invigoration, Daiki's monsters struck down their imposters, inflicting considerable pain onto Asuka. "All that trouble, just to create a speed-bump for me."

"That's your second mistake." Asuka said, unshaken by the damage she just took. "Overestimating yourself, just because everything's gone according to plan."

"As though you're doing anything different?" Daiki said, his expression unaffected.

"Absolutely." Asuka drew her next card. "I play Moray of Greed, returning the Water Attribute Ritua Scale and Ritua Sign in my hand to my deck to draw three cards." She reviewed her hand. "I set one monster and end my turn."

"My turn." Daiki looked disdainfully at Asuka's face-down monster. "I play Union Attack, granting my Wolf the attack power of my other monsters while making it so only it can attack." Arctic Wolf and Cave Wolf dashed ahead to reveal Asuka's monster, Ritua Erial. They pinned her down, allowing Wolf easy access to her throat. "Eighteen hundred defense, trivial."

"But Erial's effect is not." In the moment of her death, Ritua Erial raised her staff up into the air. "When Erial is flipped face-up, I can add any Ritua Monster from my deck to my hand." Asuka followed that up by taking her turn, drawing her next card. "The monster I chose is Ritua Beast, which I summon to the field, activating its effect." A fish-man creature with the build of a lion appeared, and with one claw it etched an arcane pattern in the ground. "When normal summoned, I can choose a level-4 or lower Ritua Monster in my grave, and special summon it in defense." A thunderous splash of water, and Ritua Erial was revived. "Now, I sacrifice both my Water-Attribute monsters to special summon Ice Master from my hand." Asuka's monster floated in the air above everyone, looking down disdainfully upon Daiki and his monsters. It attacked Arctic Wolf, destroying it for 1300 points of damage, and then summoned a frozen wind around Cave Wolf. "And now I activate the field spell Absolute Zero Barrier." The wind around Cave Wolf became ice, freezing it to the bone; it could no longer move, change battle position.

"Ice Master?" Daiki muttered darkly, his eyes full of rage. "Look at that damn thing, daring to stand in judgment of my wolfs, daring to think itself better than them, daring to try and make it so with its twisted powers." The mirrors around him began to waver, the ones around Asuka following suit. "You, Junko, Shou, you're all the same, always investing everything in one grand champion, unable to believe in the power of the group, striving to be that champion no matter the cost to yourself and everyone around you." All around Daiki and Asuka they appeared, the faces of all the students of Duel Academia who'd been unable to make it into the tournament proper. "For all of them, for the sakes of all those who've been tossed aside for the sake of an artificial elite and chosen few, I will not yield, nor will my wolfs!" He drew his card, the faces of those he spoke for upon him. "I set one card, and end my turn."

"You speak for them?" Asuka said, slowly and carefully drawing her card. "You think they'd want you for a champion?" She became aware of a cold beyond that of her field spell, one that afflicted the soul.

"How pathetic, so locked into your own preconceptions that you can't understand me." As Daiki spoke, several of the images changed to resemble him. "As though I could be such a blind hypocrite…" He sighed as yet more of the students changed into reflections of him. "It merits no response."

"You may say that," Asuka said as she followed the continued change in the 'student body' all around them, "But I have every certainty that you'll give it to me before long."

"As always, wrong." Daiki's eyes then shifted, his gaze upon one of the students in the moment of their change. "I don't know what the hell the point of this trick is supposed to be, but it means nothing to me." He turned his gaze back to Asuka, his eyes telling a very different story. "I set one card, and end my turn." With that, half of the students reflected in the mirror had become Daiki.

"So that's it." A sorrowful expression crossed Asuka's face. "You're more right than you realize, Daiki." He looked at her crossly, but said nothing. "I activate Ice Master's effect to place an Ice Counter on Wolf, and then sacrifice Ice Master to destroy both of your monsters." Ice Master spread her arms out and released all her power, obliterating every monster on the field.

"And now that my Beast-Type monsters have been destroyed, I activate Animal Trail to add my choice of Beast monster from my deck to my hand." The card he chose seemed unusually heavy, resistant even.

"Next, I reveal Ritual of Reflection to activate Ritua Divine's effect in my hand, discarding it to draw two cards." By contrast, Asuka couldn't even feel the cards she drew as separate from herself, as anything that could have a weight at all. "Now I summon Cyber Ice Valkyrie, which gains eight hundred attack points due to the four Water Attribute monsters in my grave, bringing it to a total of twenty-one hundred attack points." The young woman leaped high into the air, bringing down her leg in a devastating drop kick onto the back of Daiki's head, bringing his life points just below Asuka's. "I end my turn."

"How like an elite Obelisk Blue, to sacrifice the very symbol of her power to gain a minor advantage." Daiki shook his head. "Not that it would have helped you to keep Ice master on the field, of course." As the transformation of the 'student body' neared completion, his breathing became shallow. "First, I activate my field spell card, Inconstant Moon." It was at that moment that the last of the 'students' became Daiki, and in that moment, all the mirrors shattered, giving way to an empty white landscape beneath a moon that danced across the sky in a drunken waltz. "And now, by removing all three Wolfs in my grave, I special summon from my hand Alpha Wolf." A towering beast twice the size of a Clydesdale horse, the Alpha Wolf growled with insatiable hunger. "For every wolf I removed from play for its summoning, it gains one thousand attack points, and during my standby phase, I can choose one monster with Wolf in its name to add to my hand from my deck." His monster then stepped forward, its legs so long it didn't even need that much to reach its target, and it swallowed Cyber Ice Valkyrie whole.

"And while Inconstant Moon cuts the battle damage in half, it allows my monster to attack again!" Alpha Wolf was upon Asuka in an instant, its fangs as long as her arms. Even virtual, even solid-vision, even magically induced, even diminished by the Inconstant Moon, the pain of that bite almost brought Asuka to unconsciousness. "Do you see it now? The power of the wolf pack united as one?"

"What I see," Asuka said slowly, recovering her breath, "Is someone so terrified they can't even see it." Daiki's eyes opened wide, as did all his doppelgangers. "Look around you; this is the world you've been talking about, a world of absolute equals, no one above and no one below, no hierarchies at all." He looked all around, and was met by equally confused faces. "It's an empty world, isn't it?"

"A mere token resistance of my own heart. The God Card can erase that as well." His voice shook, the bodies of his doppelgangers shaking in turn.

"And then you really wouldn't have anything to fear, would you?" Asuka had restored herself to her full height, while Daiki seemed to shrink into himself. "You wouldn't have to fear being hurt again, or hurting anyone again, because there wouldn't really be anyone else at all." Daiki looked away from her, but Asuka would not relent. "It's one thing to believe in our fundamental human equality, but all you've done is use that as an excuse to give up on trying to improve yourself." She didn't wait for a response, drawing her card. "I activate Ritual of Reflection, removing Ritua Divine and Ritua Erial in my grave to Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Inari from my hand." As the goddess descended, her fox-style kimono shimmered. "When Ritua Divine is used as the material for a Ritual Summon, the Ritual Monster gains the name, effect, and attribute of one monster in my grave. I choose Ice Master." Inari held her hand out, issuing forth a frozen wind all around Alpha Wolf. "And now I activate Big Wave Small Wave, sacrificing Inari to summon Ice Queen to the field, and I pay five hundred life points to take control of your now Water-Attribute monster."

There Asuka stood, only fifty life points left to her, yet she could not have been more alive. There Daiki stood, alone despite being surrounded by the countless many who thought and felt the same way as he did. "I…" He spoke, his fist shaking. "I…" His face was contorted with a scowl. "I…" He looked upon the monster he'd summoned, and cringed. "Damn it!" He fell to his knees and struck the ground in self-recrimination. "Just end it already! I've gone on long enough making a fool of myself, just bring this worthless farce to a close."

Asuka blanched; for a moment she saw herself where Daiki was, the her who'd nearly been destroyed from the pain of her brother's capture, the her who'd nearly done unspeakable harm to Judai. "No." Asuka had been saved from herself too often to turn back on one who needed to be saved from themselves in turn. "This won't end until you stand; you are a duelist, a warrior of the soul. You have the strength to recover. Now stand, and face your monster and mine."

Silence dragged on, and then, one by one, Daiki's doppelgangers vanished. Slowly, cautiously, he returned to his feet. As he did, the fakes vanished ever faster, and before long, there was only one Daiki Kobayashi left, the true Daiki Kobayashi. "Now?" He spoke with enforced stoicism.

"Now." Asuka attacked with both monsters, and by the time they were both done, Daiki and his deck were gone, save for Alpha Wolf.


	41. Chapter 41

A Pure Rainbow

* * *

"Are you ready, Emi Tanaka?" Rei Saotome armed her duel disc as she surveyed her opponent; her posture was defensive, her eyes on their surrounding environment. They stood on the rocky northern coast of the island, the waves whipped into a frenzy by fierce winds, carrying with them a salty tinge.

"You know it." Emi armed her duel disc, taking a moment to assess the ground she stood on, tapping her foot against it. "The sooner one of us wins, the sooner Amon and Echo can be taken down, and we can work on finding our own dreams, our own truths, in peace."

"Right!" Rei drew her cards and put her strategy in motion. "I activate my field spell card Fusion Gate, and remove Resonance Warrior and Flora in my hand from play to summon Resonance Lady-of-Opposition!" Rei's monster floated just above the water, her aura causing it to evaporate here and there, leaving behind salty residue. "And now I set one card to end my turn."

"And now its mine." Emi assessed the cards in her hand. The wind fought with her hair as though trying to muss it up, but found no ground to do so. "I set one monster, and end my turn."

"That's it?" Rei studied Emi's face for any sort of sign or hidden trick, but her impassive expression said nothing. Rei wasn't sure what to make of this; if Emi's hidden monster was what she thought it was… "All right then," Rei drew her card, "I attack with Resonance Lady-of-Opposition!" She dashed forward through the air, spinning a naginata above her head, and then brought it down on Emi's monster.

"Ryko the Lightsworn Hunter's Flip Effect." The armored wolf leaped up, even with the devastating, deep wound Rei's monster had inflicted upon it, and bit down upon its neck. "By sending the top three cards from my deck to the grave, I can destroy one card on the field." A brilliant explosion of light, and Resonance Lady-of-Opposition was obliterated. A moment passed, and a new light appeared. "One of the cards sent from my deck to the grave was Wulf the Lightsworn Beast, activating its effect to special summon it to the field." The light coalesced, becoming the Beast-Warrior Wulf.

"That's what I thought." Rei said as she became flanked by light and darkness. "I figured that was your monster, so I activate the trap I set, Resonance Descent and remove the Resonance Lady-of-Opposition in my grave from play to special summon Resonance Guide and Resonance Reaper from my deck in defense with their effects negated." As light and shadow faded, so too did Rei's monsters. "And now I activate Fusion Gate's effect, removing them from play to Fusion Summon my second Resonance Lady-of-Opposition!" Rei's monsters joined together, and for a moment, they shined like a solar eclipse. "Now I'll set one card, and end my turn."

"That was good." Emi said, drawing her next card with unnecessary force. "I switch Wulf to defense, set one monster, and end my turn."

"Again?" Rei narrowed her glare, focused it upon Emi's eyes, but found nothing. "I thought you were trying to win as quickly as possible."

"Appearences can be deceiving, Rei." Her posture was as defensive as her monster's, Wulf.

"Yeah, that's definitely true." At least Rei could be certain that Emi knew what she was doing. "All right, I equip Resonance Lady-of-Opposition with Shining Hope, increasing her attack power to 3000, and then I summon Homunculus the Alchemic Being to attack with both monsters." Homunculus grappled with Wulf and ultimately broke its neck. Resonance Lady-of-Opposition stood over Emi's face-down monster, its shadow forcing the creature to reveal its true form; a tiny little white cat with long, fleshy extensions attached to its ears.

"Rinyan the Lightsworn Rogue's Flip Effect; I return a Lightsworn monster in my grave to my deck, and then draw one card." Rinyan flitted about, here and there, sneaking a card from Emi's grave back into her deck, and then another from her deck into her hand. Unfortunately, it's luck then ran out, and Resonance Lady-of-Opposition showed no mercy.

"And now I get to activate the effects of my monster; with Shining Hope included, when Resonance Lady-of-Opposition destroys a monster, I get to draw two cards, and you have to discard one." Light and shadow danced across the water, the salt in the air creating a thin haze. "Now I switch Homunculus's attribute to Earth, and equip it with Terrestrial Roots to end my turn." Rei watched as Emi drew her next card, continued to act like nothing was wrong. "Damn it Emi, what the hell is this? I saw your duel with Manjoume, we all did. I know you weren't lying then, you couldn't have won if you had. So why are you acting like this, staying on the defensive, too scared to attack?"

"Sometimes you get bad draws. Nothing you can do about it." Emi's face was tightened up in a scowl, an expression that Rei herself had used many times in the past, so she knew exactly what it meant.

"No, not in this duel, not in this place." As though in response to her words, the salt in the air began to gather, coalesce, take shape. "This is where I dueled my cousin, Tarou Araide." The salt had now taken the form of an immaculately detailed statue of the man in question. "I had to find out the truth of what he'd done, and face it head on. No matter how much it scared me, I had to keep moving forward; I owed it to my cousin, and I owed it to myself." Rei exhaled, and the salt statue was blown away beyond the horizon. "That's why you can't blame luck of the draw or anything like that. You've got a strong deck, and you believe in it, so why don't you use it?"

"Damn." Emi said with a wry smile on her face. "It's my own fault for picking you as my opponent." She let her arms fall to her sides, her posture open. "No matter how hard my head screams at my heart otherwise, I keep feeling like I can't possibly win, not really; even if I do make it to Kouyou Hibiki and defeat him, even if I gain the power of the God Card, my heart's still afraid that it won't mean anything. What if I can't find my truth? What if I end up trapped in Amon's warped version of the truth and serve his ambitions all over again? No matter how ridiculous this feeling is, I just can't make it go away."

"I wouldn't expect you to be able to." Rei said, a warm smile on her face. "No one can control the heart absolutely, not even Amon. Takuma and Mizuchi couldn't, Daitokuji couldn't, so why would he be any different? And besides, there's nothing wrong with being afraid, worrying, fearful of what the future might bring and whether it'll all be worth it in the end. Like I said before, I was scared to the pit of my stomach when I went to face my cousin, but I've become much, much stronger for it. You can too."

"Yeah." Emi started nodding her head. "Yeah, I think that did the trick. Now let's see if it did." She drew her card without flare or fanfare. "Yes, definitely. Watch closely Rei, you're about to see the strength of a duelist who seeks to be worthy of Obelisk Blue; I activate Realm of Light and play Solar Recharge, discarding Ehren the Lightsworn Monk to draw two cards and then send two more cards from my deck to the grave." The ocean became filled with a brilliant white light, one that grew brighter as Emi's deck was milled. "Now I play Charge of the Light Brigade, sending three more cards from my deck to the grave to add Shire the Lightsworn Spirit to my hand, and I summon it to the field, equipping it with Lightsworn Saber." A blond woman with ephemeral shimmering wings, she started off tiny, a sprite, and yet with all that light all around her, the light of her fallen Lightsworn comrades, the light of the Realm itself, and the light of the blade she wielded, she became as a giant with 3400 attack points.

"Now that's more like it Emi." Rei could feel her blood boiling over as she faced this monster.

"I'm glad you're satisfied Rei, because now that you've awoken my true power, you're going to have to face it head on! Shire, attack Resonance Lady-of-Opposition!" She flew forward, blade held horizontally as the blade grew ever longer, brighter.

"I am, because I'm more than ready for it! Trap card activate, Annulling Darkness; my Resonance Lady-of-Opposition, who counts as both Light and Dark attribute, gains three hundred attack points for every monster in either of our graves, and while I have zero, you've got seven." Dark shadows equal in measure to the light gathered around Rei's monster, empowering her, filling her with the strength to achieve victory over Emi's, dealing 1700 points of damage in the process. "Now I get to draw two cards, and you have to discard one." They did so. "Finally, the monster targeted by Annulling Darkness is destroyed at the end of the battle phase." The darkness then wrapped itself around Resonance Lady-of-Opposition, tightening its grasp until all life was squeezed out of her. She was then dropped into the ocean, and sank to the bottom. "But I've still got my Homunculus, and with Terrestrial Roots, it has enough to strength to defeat you in one blow."

"I can't deny that." Emi had a charged smile on her face, her hair standing on end even more than usual in excitement. "I'll just set one card, and end my turn."

"All right, let's see what you've got waiting for me." Rei drew her card, put it in her hand with the rest of them. "I summon Resonance Warden in defense, and attack directly with Homunculus."

"Trap card, Glorious Illusion." Shire returned, and while she no longer had her sword, she was still far stronger than the Homunculus.

"Well played. I end my turn." Rei had a feeling about what was going to happen next, and it brought a shiver to her spine.

"This was really great Rei, but I'm going to have to bring it to an end." She drew her card, a brilliant shining one. "Since I have at least four different Lightsworn monsters in my grave, I special summon Judgment Dragon from my hand, and pay one thousand life points to destroy all other cards on the field." The dragon spread out its feathery wings, each feather glowing with its own light.

"Terestrial Root's effect, by sending it to the grave, I negate Homunculus's destruction." A thousand rays of light rained on the field as thick roots wrapped themselves around the Homunculus in an effort to shield it, becoming obliterated in the process.

"I've still got thirteen hundred life points left, so I activate Judgment Dragon's effect again." This time, nothing but the dragon itself survived. "And now I summon Lumina the Lightsworn Summoner, and attack directly with both my monsters." They combined their energies, and covered Rei in an absolute hemisphere of light. Once resolved, Rei had lost all 4000 of her life points.

"Shit, maybe I went a little overboard in encouraging you." A pure rainbow bridge appeared between Rei and Emi, and they met in the middle. "Well, hopefully next year you'll learn to respect your senior, even if she is just an Osiris Red." She took her Resonance Lady of Three-in-One, and handed it to Emi.

"And hopefully I'll be a true exemplar of Obelisk Blue, just like Manjoume and Ryoko." The two shook hands, and Rei vanished.


	42. Chapter 42

An Echo of Love in the Darkness

* * *

"The hell's with this place?" Momoe Hamaguchi found herself short of breath, the atmosphere thick and stifling. It was a huge, ostentatious room where the very walls seemed intent on crushing her psyche. There were no windows, the lighting was poor. "Is this, is this where you grew up?" Across from her, standing at the base of a large bed, stood Amon and Echo.

"It is an intimidating room." Amon said, taking the sight in with a note of amusement. "Mr. and Mrs. Garam…rather, Thoth and Agape, they brought me here, told me this was to be my room. After my time in the wastes staring up at the clouds, it seemed heavenly to me." He sighed wistfully. "The folly of youth. Fortunately, I've made the best of my situation, as has Echo." As he finished speaking, for half a second a phantasm appeared at his side, himself as a child no older than ten. The smile on the child's face was identical to its adult counterpart.

"And now the time approaches." Echo stepped forward as she addressed Momoe. "Soon I shall fulfill my promise, my vow." She armed her duel disc. "Give me a good duel, so that Asuka can be motivated to become my worthy opponent."

"I suppose I can't blame you for feeling overconfident." Momoe kept her expression neutral, tried as much as possible to keep her true thoughts and suspicions hidden, an already difficult task made even more so by the nature of where they were. "But even the Legendary Duelists couldn't defeat their opponents if they didn't keep their entire focus on the duel at hand." She armed her duel disc as a cloying scent filled the room.

"Which is why I have always kept the entirety of my being focused on the true battle before me." The cloying scent was gone.

"Is that so?" Momoe drew her cards while trying to piece together the mystery before her. "Then you should have no problem with my Doomcaliber Knight, or my face-down card."

"I will not." Echo drew her card to the sound of metal scraping on metal. "I activate my field spell card, Holy Castle." The room in all its deeply rooted presence vanished, giving way to the open air. Great columns of stone arose up out of the ground, each one bearing a statue of a man whose bearing was tall and proud, defiant. Grand fountains sprayed water in patterns that captured the light of the mid-day sun, casting rainbows all around. And behind Echo stood a towering wall of the purest gold, adorned with banners dedicated to her king. "Within this domain, the prayers of the devout are answered and rewarded. Whenever I discard an Angel-Type monster as the cost of activating a card, I then draw one card." Triumphant trumpets began to play.

"And now I activate my permanent trap card, Coffin Seller." Momoe seized the course of the duel. "Whenever a monster card is sent to your grave, you'll take three hundred points of damage." This was the moment of truth; so long as she didn't have Herald of Purple Light, Echo's entire strategy would be turned against her.

"I activate the permanent spell card Devil's Cause and discard Herald of Blue Light to add Ritual of Grace and Divine Grace Northwemko from my deck to my hand." As a brilliant beam of blue light shot down into the ground, it was met by Doomcaliber Knight as it rushed forward, compelled to achieve mutual obliteration. "I discard Herald of Orange Light, and Grace of Wisdom to negate your monster's effect." A pillar of orange light crashed down upon the demonic knight, crushing its ambition. Then necrotic energy emerged from where Echo's angels had fallen, writhing and twisting in response to Momoe's Coffin Seller. In turn, the Holy Castle shined upon Echo and revealed a twisted angel. "So long as Devil's Cause is on the field, whenever you activate the effect of a trap card, I discard an Angel-Type monster from my hand to negate and destroy it. Then, we each get to draw one card." The angel struck at that deathly power and banished Momoe's trap from existence. "I now summon Grace of Power and activate its effect to remove Herald of Blue Light and Grace of Wisdom in my grave from play to draw two cards. Thus, I activate Ritual of Grace and sacrifice Grace of Control, Herald of Green Light, and Herald of Black Light from my hand to Ritual Summon Divine Grace Northwemko."

Towering, the woman clad in black appeared, a goddess that promised salvation. She held her staff over the Holy Castle, over Devil's Cause, over the Grace of Power, granting her blessing to all of them. While they stood, she would not fall. "Northwemko, Power, attack directly." Echo's monsters attacked Momoe with all the grace that their names spoke of, and when they were finished, she had only 100 life points left.

"Shit, that was pretty devastating." Momoe could barely stand after that attack. "Destroying my field, and bringing out that monster that can't be destroyed by card effects until I get rid of everything else first…it's an impressive feat, I'll give you that." She forced her numb arms to draw her card. "But no matter how narrow it is, an opening is an opening." She looked upon her card, and smiled. "I activate Nightmare's Steelcage, preventing either of us from attacking until the end phase of your second turn after this card's activation." Curved iron bars covered in spikes erupted out of the ground in a ring around Echo, and then met five feet above her head, locking into place.

"How quaint." Echo closed her eyes as she smiled. "After catching a glimpse of the environment I grew up in, you imagine that this cage would affect me?" Her poise, her demeanor, it was as controlled as ever.

"The environment you grew up in?" Momoe's eyes grew wide in shock. "You, you grew up with him?" Momoe stared at the golden wall behind which she knew Amon stood.

"I'd already told Manjoume that I'd always been as Amon's knight in shining armor, fighting for him. Did he not share this with you, or did you simply not grasp what that meant?"

"I suppose it's my own fault for not realizing it earlier; that room we first appeared in wasn't from my memories, so it had to be from yours, right?" Momoe narrowed her eyes. "Then again, it reacted to Amon's thoughts, not yours, and you couldn't wait to activate that field spell of yours and escape that place. What's really going on here?"

"Your doubts mean nothing to me, save that you can't provide me with the glorious duel I need."

"That so?" Momoe summoned Dark Jeroid to the field and watched as its effect reduced Northwemko's attack power by 800 points. "Then I activate the permanent spell card Demon's Solidarity; during the end phase of every turn that I control exactly one Demon-type monster, I place one counter on this card." A rusty red iron bar covered in spiked chains erupted from the ground just behind Dark Jeroid. Despite the absence of eyes, it somehow seemed as though it were leering down at the monster. "I end my turn." With that, one of the chains began to move.

"As do I." Echo said before she'd even drawn her card.

"You're that confident, are you?" Momoe observed Echo's unchanging expression, and got her answer. "My turn." The moment she touched the top card of her deck, she felt a great warmth coming from it. Once drawn, she looked at it with a smile on her face. "Here at Duel Academia, among other things we're taught how to connect to one another through our cards. This card, it was a major step in the bonds that I formed with my friends, all of them." As she recalled that Joint Duel back in her first year, she could feel the area around her begin to change accordingly.

"Meaningless." A crushing wave of psychic energy crashed down on Momoe, the stage of the duel unchanged.

"No, it isn't." Momoe saw it in Echo's eyes. "You were scared just then, you've invested so much in believing in that rat-bastard over there, you couldn't risk being shown everything you've lost and missed out on because of it. But you can't avoid it forever, not when I play this card; I sacrifice Dark Jeroid and summon Legendary Fiend!" Dark Jeroid vanished, the Legendary Fiend manifested. "With its effect, Legendary Fiend grows ever stronger and stronger, just as I have with all the bonds that I've formed here at Duel Academia. All the strength that you've acquired through your narrow-minded focus, is nothing compared to that. I set one card, and end my turn."

"…I'm sure you imagine that the trials you've overcome were great. All of you, so young, so innocent, oblivious to the true dangers that this world has to offer." Divine Grace Northwemko looked down upon Echo, a despairing look to her face. Echo glared back in turn, and Northwemko's expression became fierce, unrelenting. "When you see what Amon will accomplish with the power of the God Card, then and only then will you understand. Now, I set one card, and end my turn." With that, the Nightmare's Steelcage vanished, while Demon's Solidarity acquired its fourth counter, four chains now rattling as they sought to break free.

"My turn, and during my standby phase I activate Demon's Solidarity's effect." As Legendary Fiend finished increasing its own power, the four chains of Demon's Solidarity suddenly whipped out and hooked into its body. "When this card has four counters on it, I can send it to the grave to double my Demon's attack power and destroy up to three cards on the field." Legendary Fiend flailed as its body surged with strength, swinging the chains into Devil's Cause, Grace of Power, and even the foundations of the Holy Castle itself. By the time all was said and done, all that remained on the dueling field were the two monsters. Instantly the cold, crushing presence of the room that Amon and Echo had grown up in returned, dwarfing even the Legendary Fiend's raging presence. "Next, I summon Newdoria and activate Final Sacrifice to equip it to Newdoria; if it gets destroyed in battle, I take no damage and draw two cards. And when Newdoria is destroyed in battle, I can destroy one monster on the field. You've lost all the cards that protected Northwemko, so Newdoria's effect will go through."

Momoe's feral monster leaped onto Northwemko and clawed its eyes out even as its overflowing power tore it apart. "Trap card activate, Demise of Defeat." Northwemko's spirit appeared on the field, and drifted towards Momoe. "When a Ritual Monster I control is destroyed, I discard my hand to reduce all damage I would take this turn to zero, and deal damage equal to my Ritual Monster's original attack power to my opponent." Northwemko passed through Legendary Fiend, all its strength meaningless, and placed her hand on Momoe's head. The attack lasted only a moment, but it was enough. Momoe had been defeated.

"Goddamnit. I'm sorry everyone." Momoe took the Legendary Fiend from her Duel Disc and looked at it one last time. She then looked up at Echo, who was now standing over her. "It's okay though; my friends will learn from this duel too, and they'll figure out how to defeat you. And when you lose, there won't be anyone to pick up after you, especially not that bastard Amon."

"That's only if I fail him." Echo took Momoe's card and watched her vanish. Then, before she could turn and return to Amon, the feelings Momoe had left behind in her Soul Card flared. Echo resisted them, but for a moment she saw herself as a child. Despite all the years that had passed since that time, despite how she'd forged herself into becoming the perfect weapon, in that one brief horrible moment Echo desired nothing as much as she did a friend to embrace.

"Echo?" There was concern in Amon's voice, so she turned around, and showed him the face of his perfect, devoted warrior, the well practiced subtleties of expression necessary to assure him that all was and would be right with the world. And she would make it so, both in form and in truth.


	43. Chapter 43

Gaia's Vengeance**

* * *

**

"Before we begin, Yuuto Inoue, there is something I want to say." Momiji Todo allowed his emotions to show through his face, to let his opponent. "Before I understood the artificial nature of who and what you are, I found the fact that you were the embodiment of the antithesis of everything I believed in most unusual. But now we both understand that Amon and Kouyou intended for you to function as my antithesis to help ensure that the God Card would gain the power it needed from us. So, if you intend to keep playing out that forced role out of some misguided guilt-complex, know that I won't hesitate to crush you." The forest all around them was silent in the wake of Momiji's words.

"Guilt?" Yuuto said as though the word threatened to cut his tongue apart. "Didn't you pay any attention to my duel against your friend Misawa? I have no time to waste with guilt, no time to squander in a indulgent bout of self-pity to no constructive end. That you could misconstrue what I'm trying to accomplish so badly, shows that neither you nor Misawa understand anything."

"So, not only do you not intend to stop, but you compound your insults against Misawa, who is more to me than even the word friend can convey." Momiji armed his duel disc through pure will, not even the slightest twitch of muscle in his arms. "You've forsaken even the possibility of forgiveness."

"And as I've said before, I don't give a damn what you have to say or think." Yuuto armed his duel disc with an excess of motion. "When I gain the God Card's power and make my research, truly mine, and share its fruits with all the people of the world, you'll know how truly pathetic you were to stand in the way of such progress." Yuuto drew his cards. "A perfect draw. Future Fusion." An edifice covered in circuitry appeared behind Yuuto, so tall as to reach the sun. "By sending Fusion Material Monsters from my deck to the grave, I can summon a Fusion monster on my second standby phase after activating this card. Thus, I send Einroid, Zweiroid, Dreiroid, Vierroid, and Funfroid for the summon of Extreme Fighting Machine King Valavaroid!" As the schematic for Yuuto's monster appeared, life was leached from the forest. "Now, if Future Fusion is destroyed, I lose my monster. Which is why I'll be summoning Carrieroid from my hand, and with its effect, I can discard a card to negate the destruction of a spell or trap card I control." Carrieroid appeared just above the ground, and then dropped, splitting the soil. "And now, I activate March of Roid, allowing me to special summon Decoyroid from my hand in defense." Invisible machines paved concrete all around the duelists, and a tiny little race car dashed ahead of Carriroid. "So long as I control Decoyroid, you can't attack Carrireoid. So long as you can't attack Carrieroid, you can't destroy Future Fusion. So long as you can't destroy Future Fusion, you can't win."

"Are you done?" Momiji drew his card, his eyes narrow in disdain. "You're certainly paranoid about this edifice you've created, so certain that it is so great. In your mind there must exist thousands upon thousands of parasites that desire nothing more than to tear it all down." As he spoke, Future Fusion became covered in colony upon colony of fireants. "How arrogant, to assume that your greatness should be the center of existence." Momiji shook his head. "No, the real hubris lies in thinking that what you've created is great at all."

"Oh yeah? If my strategy, if my power, if my future isn't so great, then prove it, destroy it and show me what you think could possibly exceed it."

"As though I'll indulge in your whining." Momiji examined his hand. "I summon Ultimate Insect Level One and play Level Up, sacrificing it to special summon Ultimate Insect Level Three from my deck. Then, I play Magical Stone Excavation to discard two cards from my hand and return Level Up to my hand, playing it again for Ultimate Insect Level Five." The insect hissed, spewing acid all over the Decoyroid, melting it into slag, and then nothing. "I end my turn."

"Too slow Momiji, too piecemeal, but what do you expect when you senselessly pattern your entire deck after plants and insects? Compared to the speed of my machines, your monsters are standing still, ready to be left behind and extinct. Not unlike the undead fables that Misawa also tried to rely upon. Honestly, why do I keep having to deal with relics like you two?"

"Because you perniciously insist on failing to learn from your mistakes. Now, take your turn already, I tire of your blather."

"Gladly, the sight of your vulgar monsters is sickening to me." He drew his card, and grinned. "All your progress is now undone a thousand times over. First, I use March of Roid to special summon Ambulanceroid from my hand, and then I play Life Into Machines, paying one thousand life points to special summon Expressroid from my deck." Yet more machines rolled onto the field, tearing apart even the concrete beneath them. "When Expressroid is summoned, I can add two Vehicroid monsters in my grave to my hand, which activates Ambulanceroid's effect, allowing me to special summon Decoyroid back to the field." One of the cars on the Expressroid opened up, and Decoyroid dashed out. "And now, for my normal summon, I sacrifice Expressroid to summon Rescueroid." Expressroid then fell apart to make way for the new machine on the field, which resembled a firetruck more than anything. "By Rescueroid's effect, when a Vehicroid monster is destroyed by battle, I can return that monster to my hand. By Ambulanceroid's effect, I then special summon that monster back to the field. With Decoyroid's eternal revival assured, you'll never touch Carrieroid nor Future Fusion."

"That's certainly true. I can no more hope to defeat your combo, than you can hope to defeat me."

"What?" Yuuto's eyes grew wide. "Is your entire plan to try and drive me insane through your incoherent nonsense?"

"The only source of incoherence here is you; you know that this entire 'dream' of yours was an artifice, yet you still insist on following it, inanely hoping that those who've died in its name will find it in them to forgive you once they see what it was all for. How childish."

"How is it childish? I'm trying to make their deaths mean something, I'm trying to bring peace to their families, I'm trying to do something good for the whole world!" Now vines were breaking through the concrete created by March of Roid, undoing its civilizing presence.

"You are merely trying to assuage your own guilt the only way you know how, even though you know it won't work. Pitiful." Momiji drew his card. "I sacrifice Ultimate Insect Level five to special summon Ultimate Insect Level Seven in defense, and activate Hide of Chitin, removing from play three different insects in my grave from play to draw two cards from my deck." The shells of Ultimate Insects previous forms appeared on the field, and evaporated. "Next, I summon Phoenexian Seed, and sacrifice it to special summon Phoenexian Cluster Amaryllis, and with it I attack your Decoyroid."

"Why bother?" Decoyroid was destroyed, and was swiftly replaced. "A pure waste of time."

"Only to the blind." Phoenexian Cluster Amaryllis exploded in accordance with its own effect, dealing 800 points of damage to Yuuto. "I set one card to end my turn, and during the end-phase I remove Phoenexian Seed in my grave from play to bring back Amaryllis in defense."

"And now it ends. My second standby phase following Future Fusion's activation has come, and with it, the Extreme Fighting Machine King Valvaroid." The edifice of Future Fusion glowed brilliantly, bringing reality to Valvaroid's design. "Four thousand attack points, the ability to attack twice, negating the effects of the monsters it destroys by battle, inflicting one thousand points of damage when it destroys a monster, all that for the meager cost of being unable to attack directly with it. Still, with all my other untouchable machines, Valvaroid need only clear the path to assure my victory. Let's start with that worthless insect of yours." Valvaroid attacking Ultimate Insect Level Seven was akin to a human stepping on a cockroach, though far more one-sided. Valvaroid's energy then rushed through Momiji, inflicting the promised 1000 points of damage. "And now the plant, who's damage effect you won't be able to activate."

"I don't have to." Valvaroid tore Phoenxian Cluster Amaryllis from its roots, and then tore it apart, devastating Momiji with a shower of energy. "By destroying Amaryllis, you activated my trap card, Reprisal of Thorns." Thorn covered vines sprouted on the ground and began to move, inching their way ever closer to Yuuto. "When a plant type monster I control is destroyed, I can pay one thousand life points to deal damage equal to the destroyed monster's attack points to my opponent."

"What?" Yuuto tried to get away from the creeping vines, but backed into Future Fusion and could go no further.

"This alter to reckless development and meaningless technology you've erected will do you no good." The vines began to wrap around Yuuto's legs, and Momiji walked his way past Valvaroid. "You've invested so much of yourself into this monstrosity that you confused yourself for it. You never gave a thought to yourself, never a moment's consideration to your past, always ever onward to the future so as to avoid your pain, your guilt, your lament, your regret."

"What the hell do you want from me?" Yuuto could feel the vines wrapping around his torso, still waiting for the exact moment to squeeze all life out of him.

"What I want, is an acknowledgment from you." Momiji held his hand out, and materialized a dead beetle in it. "This was the first to die for the sake of your experiments, no less a living creature with a soul to call its own than any other." He then placed it on Yuuto's head, balancing it carefully. "Listen to it. Learn something of the grand vastness of our Earth that you've so recklessly tried to injure. Learn from the spirits of the fallen dead that you've so casually dismissed. Then, and only then, can I consider forgiving you."

"But, you said that you'd never forgive me." The vines were now at Yuuto's throat.

"Right now I can see the terror in your eyes. I can see that part of your heart that isn't lying to itself, so I will give it that chance. But for now, there's something I need from you."

"Right." Yuuto looked down at his Decoyroid card. "Go on, take it. I'm not going to need it where I'm going."

"Thank you." Momiji spoke curtly as he took the card, and watched as his trap took effect. Yuuto was gone. Momiji stood alone.


	44. Chapter 44

Yet Another Truth, Yet Another Lie

* * *

"Now only five remain." Principal Samejima watched the monitor as five more of her students collapsed following the conclusion of their unseen duels. "Haruka Endo, Daiki Kobayashi, Rei Saotome, Momoe Hamaguchi, Yuuto Inoue, you all deserved far better than this." She then looked to her desk, and shook her head; regardless of how very little she could do in the face of Kouyou Hibiki's and Amon Garam's plottings, she had to remain sober for her students in their darkest hour. Suddenly, a flicker of light in the corner of her eye, and when Samejima looked back at the monitor, the previous image had been replaced with that of a woman, dressed in an exceedingly fine gown, with makeup so fine and light that it left no doubt as to the sheer excess of her wealth. She looked to be in her 40's, and there was something about the eyes that held Samejima's attention.

"Pardon the intrusion," the woman said with a trained, cultured voice, "but I must ask a favor of you. I am Agape Garam, and I am unable to contact my daughter. It is imperative that I reach her as soon as possible"

"Agape Garam, of the Garam Group?" Confusion set into Samejima's voice. "I was unaware that you had a daughter."

"Ah, of course. I'd forgotten that she does not use any name beyond her given one." Samejima saw the look in Agape's eyes, watching and waiting for her to make the implied connections. She then recoiled in horror at the woman's smile.

"You couldn't…" Samejima found it difficult to speak coherently. "Echo?"

"You doubt that my daughter could be so strong, so skilled, so driven in her duty to her family?" It was in that moment that Samejima saw it; while all else was different between mother and daughter, their eyes were the same.

"But, I was of the impression that her relationship to your son Amon…" Samejima paused when she saw the quizzical expression that was now on Agape's face. Enlightenment soon followed.

"Again, forgive me; it is not often that I speak with those who do not know and understand these things already. Amon is not my son, nor is he my husband Thoth's son. He is merely a useful instrument of the Garam Group, and as such it does not matter to me what indiscretions Echo engages in with him." All throughout, her face bore a benign smile, incongruous to her words and meaning that they embodied. "What does matter is my ability to reach her when I need her, and it seems that for whatever reason I must pass on my message to her through you."

"And that would be?" Samejima did not waste time disguising her distaste for this woman she'd known for only less than two minutes.

"Return. That is all. I trust that as a professional education administrator, you will not let your disdain for me interfere in your obligations and duties?" That unwavering smile on her face spoke of her reciprocal disdain for Samejima.

"You test my limits, Mrs. Garam." Samejima sighed. "My duties and obligations as the principal of Duel Academia compel me to guide my students and protect them until they are ready to take up arms in their own defense. They do not compel me to facilitate harm to them. At present, Echo, your daughter, is fighting on behalf of Amon to obtain the God Card for him, that he might become the True King of this world. Removing her now would greatly help my students."

"And yet, you will not relay my message as your duty compels you to?" Agape spoke with an amused chuckle, as though this had been an anticipated and acceptable turn of events.

"Right in one." Samejima said with a nod, not caring what Agape truly thought of her. "While my duties are important, they do not control me; when the need arises, I can disregard my duty to do what I belief is right. Even if Echo is an enemy of this school, I can not find it in my heart to have her return to someone like you."

"Someone like me, who could with a word withdraw the funding and support your school desperately needs to survive?"

"Someone like you, who would see her own children as nothing more than tools. Good day." With that, Principal Samejima shut off the video phone, allowing her to once more watch over her students.

* * *

"Echo." The moment after Kouyou Hibiki showed everyone what exactly had transpired in each of their duels, Amon addressed his love. "Why did you think you needed to hide your doubt from me? After all the times I've shared my weaknesses and doubts with you, why would you think that you couldn't do the same with me?"

She looked at him, then closed her eyes and smiled with a self-reproaching shaking of her head, always far more critical of herself than she ever was of him. Her smile became more honest as he cupped her chin in his hand.

"You are my Knight, Echo, but you are also my love; even if your armor should chip, your swords rust away, my love for you shall never waver." The look in her eyes spoke volumes, all of them unreservedly joyous.

"Amon…" He turned his head in Judai's direction, at the child who looked at him in confusion. His friends were also there, looking at him as well. Even Emi Tanaka stood with him.

"I'd have thought you'd already left to take your friends to Head Nurse Ayukawa's office." Amon said with a smirk. "Or is true love such a spectacle to you all?"

Judai was about to respond when Emi grabbed his arm. "There's something I need to tell you guys." She said in a whisper in an effort to keep him from hearing her. He had no doubt what she intended to tell them, and he did not care. After all, he had but to look into Echo's eyes to know that whatever they thought didn't matter in the slightest.

* * *

"Are you serious?" Asuka said, the sheer weight of the story that Emi Tanaka had relayed to her bearing down upon her. "Amon almost killed his little brother?" She then felt Judai take her hand and squeeze it; he needed this as much as she did.

"That's what he told us." Emi Tanaka sighed as she looked over at Head Nurse Ayukawa checking one everyone, on the other students who'd also been manipulated by Amon like her. "I still don't know how much of it I can believe, how much of it was just a series of self-serving lies, but after seeing…that, I knew that you guys had to know."

"And we are thankful that you've told us this." Momiji Todo said as he withdrew from Misawa's still sleeping form. "With this understanding, we're all better equipped to face her." He paused, and looked at Judai. "What's bothering you?"

"Emi, you said that after Echo stopped Amon, that she never said another word to him ever again?"

She nodded. "That's what Amon told us."

"Something about that bothers me; how can she love him so much, yet never say it for years on end?"

"That's not the only problem with that story." Head Nurse Ayukawa stood up from her desk, a haunted look on her face. "I just received an e-mail from Principal Samejima concerning a conversation she'd just had with Mrs. Agape Garam…Echo's mother." She then repeated the summation that Samejima had given to her, and waited.

Silence reigned, the only sounds the breathing of the unconscious.

"What the hell kind of family is this?" Asuka said, breaking the silence. "None of this makes any sense; Amon is practically committing treason against them, yet…that woman, she doesn't even care. And Echo…" Asuka paused, reflected on every word that Echo had ever said. "She knows the truth. If we want to have any hope of making any sense out of all this and bringing a stop to it for good, then I need to face her, and drag it out of her, no matter what. Come on guys." Asuka marched out of the infirmary, her friends following after.

* * *

"Judai, everyone, are you ready to resume the tournament?" Kouyou knew that asking was an unnecessary courtesy; he could see it in there eyes, especially Asuka's, that they were all ready to fight. "This will be the final round conducted in the mental sphere, and Echo shall automatically seed into the next round." He then turned to Amon. "If you'd like, you may choose who will face who."

"Very well." Amon said with a shrug. "Judai Yuki vs. Emi Tanaka, and Asuka Tenjouin vs. Momiji Todo." The four glowered, but had no choice but to concede. They faced off against one another, and armed their Duel Discs.

"Then we shall begin the third round." Kouyou snapped his fingers, as he'd done before at the start of every round, sending the duelists to their respective battlefields.


	45. Chapter 45

The Hero Who Stands Tall in the Light

* * *

"All right Judai, I know you've got a lot riding on this duel, way more than I ever could." Emi Tanaka said as she stood atop her mountain peak, looking across the void between them at Judai as he stood on his. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up and let you have an easy win. Ryoko, Manjoume, Rei, I could never dishonor them that way." She armed her duel disc.

"That's okay, I wouldn't let you anyway; when I saw your duel with Professor Chronos, I knew we'd be dueling some day. I had no idea when, only a vague idea of where, and to be honest, I was sure we'd be mortal enemies by then. But what I did know then, and I do know now, is that you'll be a great opponent, no matter which one of us wins." He armed his duel disc as the thin sharp wind passed though the both of them. "Let's do our best, and we won't have any regrets at all."

"Right." Emi Tanaka put on her game face and drew her card. "I summon Aurkus the Lightsworn Druid in defense position." A man with a thick, strong build appeared, dressed in white like his thin, short hair, and in one arm he cradled a massive tome. "So long as Aurkus is on the field, Lightsworn monsters can't be targeted by effects. Now, I set three cards, and during my end phase, Aurkus sends two cards from my deck to the grave." Twin flashes of light fell down past the mountainside, but Emi stood strong.

"Right, my turn." Judai drew his cards, examined his hand, and formed his strategy. "I'll start by summoning Summoner Monk in defense, and then I activate Magician's Archive to add De-Fusion from my deck to my hand, which I discard for Summoner Monk's effect to special summon Stratos from my deck. I then use his effect to add Elemental Hero Heat from my deck to my hand, and now I discard King of the Swamp to add Fusion to my hand." There, now everything had been gathered. Over the years since Kouyou had given him his deck, he'd made many changes here and there; he'd made it stronger, more efficient, his own.

"Now, I activate Fusion, sending Stratos from my field and Heat from my hand to the grave to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Inferno!" A great ball of fire descended through the clouds and then uncurled, revealing its true humanoid form.

"Counter-trap, Vanquishing Light!" Aurkus tossed aside his book and held his arms out as his whole body began to glow with a brilliance surpassing the sun. "By sacrificing one Lightsworn Monster I control, I negate the summon of your monster, and destroy it." Aurkus's whole body exploded into light, a great mass that enveloped Inferno and crushed it.

"That's okay, I chose Inferno for a reason; when destroyed and sent from the field to the grave, I can add a spell card from my grave to my hand." Judai held his hand out, and caught Magician's Archive between his fingers as it shot out from below. "I activate it again to add Miracle Fusion to my hand, and play it, removing Heat and Stratos in my grave from play to fusion summon Elemental Hero Great Tornado."

The clouds above became twisted and coiled as Great Tornado descended slowly, gracefully. "Permanent Trap card activate, Glorious Illusion." The shimmering form of Aurkus reappeared on the field, ready to meet Great Tornado's advance. "Permanent Trap card, Lightsworn Barrier!" A transparent sphere appeared around Aurkus, and when Great Tornado smashed his fist against it, it was as steel. "Whenever you attack a Lightsworn monster I control, I can send the top two cards from my deck to the grave to negate that attack."

"I knew you had something like that in mind." Judai said with an easy smile. "I'll set two cards of my own, and end my turn."

"My turn." Emi Tanaka placed her fingers over the top card of her deck; no matter what, she knew she could rely on Lightsworn Barrier to keep her safe for as long as it had to. "But I don't want to wait." She looked upon the towering form of Great Tornado, and she looked at the two cards behind it, no doubt meant to protect it. "I want to overcome you, now!" She drew her card, and her soul's cry was rewarded. "I sacrifice Aurkus to summon Celestia, allowing me to activate her effect and send the top four cards of my deck to my grave to destroy two of yours."

As the angel flapped her wings, sending yet more of Emi's cards to the grave, a light appeared in her hand. "And it would seem that one of the cards sent to the grave Lightsworn Sabre." She equipped the sword, increasing her attack power to 3000. Then she pointed at both of Judai's face-down cards, destroying them. "And now, Celestia will attack and destroy Great Tornado for four hundred points of damage." Celestia flew at breakneck speed and clashed with Great Tornado, severing his hands in seconds. She then bisected him across the waist, and returned to Emi. "Now it's your turn again, Judai."

"Right." Judai drew his card and looked at his hand; Winged Kuriboh Level Nine, and Fusion Pass. He could try to play the latter and hope to summon Elemental Hero Gaia…but she still had Lightsworn Barrier. "I discard Fusion Pass to activate Summoner Monk's effect and special summon Elemental Hero Ice Edge from my deck in defense, and end my turn."

"Good move, going for an impenetrable wall that my Celestia can't do anything about." Emi drew her next card, and smiled. "Unfortunately, Gragonith can." Celestia vanished, taking her sword with her. Climbing up the mountainside was Gragonith the Lightsworn Dragon, its body filling with the strength of the five fallen Lightsworns that preceded it. "But more importantly, I need to get rid of that Summoner Monk before it can grab the materials you need for a fusion. Gragonith, attack and destroy Summoner Monk!" The cohesive force of Gragonith's breath tore through Judai's monster and slammed into his chest, dealing 1900 points of damage. "I set one card, and during the end phase of my turn, I send three more cards from my deck to the grave." She waited as yet more of her deck was lost, but Gragonith's attack power remained unchanged. "Oh well, I end my turn."

"Okay." Judai knew his options were limited; he couldn't attack, and he couldn't defend. "My turn." Even so, he would rise to the occasion. "Since I have Inferno and Great Tornado in my grave, I activate Legacy of a Hero to draw three cards." With the power he'd inherited and made his own, he would forge the path before him. "I sacrifice Elemental Hero Ice Edge to summon Elemental Hero Obsidian in defense, and then I set two cards to end my turn."

In that moment, Judai saw the dueling field before him change; nighttime in the woods, and across him stood his opponent, a first-year obelisk blue. "Judai!" Asuka suddenly called out in Emi's voice, bringing him back to the present battle.

"Sorry, just a bit of déjà vu I guess."

"More then that I'm afraid." Emi chuckled a bit. "I saw just a bit of that duel too, but it was enough to see that I can't just attack that monster of yours head on, which is why I'll be summoning Ehren the Lightsworn Monk, and when she attacks a defense position monster, she skips the damage calculation and returns that monster to your deck." The tan-skinned warrior leaped and flipped as she crossed from one mountain peak to the next…

"Trap card activate, A Hero Emerges, and since I've only got one card in my hand, that means I special summon Winged Kuriboh Level Nine to the field. Then I activate Staunch Defender, forcing you to attack Winged Kuriboh Level Nine with both of your monsters, and while you managed to send five Lightsworn monsters to your grave, you've also sent seven spell cards, so that gives my monster a total of thirty-five hundred attack points!" Descending like a meteorite, clad in red armor and armed with steel claws, Winged Kuriboh Level Nine intercepted and obliterated Ehren for 1900 points of damage. Gragonith then roared in rage and flew after Judai's monster. They clashed for a time, and ultimately slew one another simultaneously.

"Damn, wouldn't have figured you'd be able to work around my Lightsworn Barrier like that." Nevertheless, the smile on Emi's face was honest and true. "That just leaves me with no choice but to activate this trap card, Rise of the Sun; when one or more Lightsworn monsters I control are destroyed and sent to the grave, I can add Judgment Dragon from my deck or grave to my hand." In the next moment, the ultimate monster of her deck had been summoned onto the field. "And now, I pay one thousand life points to activate its effect and destroy all other cards on the field." The destruction was sweeping and absolute, yet Obsidian still stood.

"Sorry, but Obsidian can't be destroyed by effects that don't target it. Don't worry though, you're not the first to find that out the hard way." Once more, a brief flash of Asuka in Emi's place.

"I didn't think I was. Well, No choice but to end my turn and send another four cards from my deck to my grave."

"My turn, and I summon Elemental Hero Ocean and switch Obsidian to attack position." Obsidian advanced as far as it could, but was swiftly destroyed by Judgment Dragon's breath, leaving Judai with just 500 life points. "When Obsidian is destroyed, its second effect is activated to destroy Judgment Dragon." Obsidian's spirit emerged and smashed its shields into Judgment Dragon, dragging it down into the grave. "And now I attack directly with Elemental Hero Ocean to win." Ocean passed right through Emi's body, and at the end of his spear he held the Judgment Dragon card.

"Go ahead and take it Judai, you've earned it." Ocean returned to Judai's side, and handed the card to him before vanishing. "Well, at least I got to end my part in all this on a high note." With that, she was gone.


	46. Chapter 46

The Rose's Final Bloom

* * *

"Asuka, while I do have every confidence that you will prove victorious, I want you to understand that I still intend to win and I will do everything in my power to accomplish that." Momiji Todo said as he meticulously shuffled his deck before returning it to his duel disc, standing on a rock atop a subterranean lake.

"Now there's an odd thing to say before a duel." Asuka chuckled a bit, her dirty blonde hair waving, dimly reflected in the water around her tiny island.

Momiji shrugged his shoulders. "I've noticed a pattern over the past couple of years, and if that pattern should hold, you will emerge victorious. But as I said, I'll do everything in my power to break that pattern." He armed his duel disc and drew his cards. "I activate Seed of Deception to special summon Evil Thorn from my hand, and sacrifice it for its effect, dealing three hundred points of damage and special summoning two more from my deck with their effects negated." From deep underwater Momiji's plant monster grew, and the very moment it broke the skin of the lake, it then tossed its fruit at Asuka, exploding for the promised sum of damage. "Now, I sacrifice both of my Evil Thorns to summon Regenerating Rose in defense, and then I activate The World Tree to end my turn." From behind Momiji emerged The World Tree, it's roots drawing so deeply of the vital essence of the Earth that it was able to shine with its own light. In turn, the Regenerating Rose grew before Momiji, its thorns tightly coiled around itself.

"An interesting start, to say the least." Asuka assessed her situation carefully; between Regenerating Rose and The World Tree's effect, Momiji could hold her off for as long as he had to. "Now for mine." She drew her card and added it to her hand. "I activate Ritual Foregone, allowing me to pay one thousand life points to special summon a Ritual Monster from my hand, but that monster can't attack, and is destroyed during the end phase. In this fashion, I special summon Cyber Angel Amaterasu from my hand, and then sacrifice her to summon Fog King!" Immediately the temperature dropped and visibility declined as the Fog King's presence caused its namesake to manifest. Floating just above the water, it glided towards Regenerating Rose, and sliced it apart. It returned to Asuka's side, while Regenerating Rose's remains revived as a pair of Rose Tokens, while The World Tree now bore a single fruit. "I should warn you, so long as Fog King is on the field, neither of us can sacrifice our monsters."

"I see." It was momentary, but Momiji's eyes did flare wide open in response to Asuka's declaration. "That will certainly throw some complications into my strategy." He drew his next card, and paused. "This will be costly in terms of my life points, but I can't afford to let you keep such a powerful monster on the field. I summon Lord Poison, and then order it to attack your Fog King." Momiji's vicious, demonic plant monster could not even scratch Fog King's armor; such was their disparity in strength that the Fog King was contemptuous as it struck down Lord Poison for 2100 points of damage. "When destroyed by battle, Lord Poison lets me special summon a plant monster other than Lord Poison from my grave, allowing me to recover my Regenerating Rose. Furthermore, The World Tree now gains a second counter, and with the end of my battle phase, I remove both to destroy your Fog King." As the twin fruits of The World Tree withered away, thousands of vines grew around the Fog King, encircling it, wrapping it, crushing it. "And now I set one card to end my turn."

As the fog faded away, Asuka was able to clearly show Momiji her cool yet excited smile. "That strategy just now…" She shook her head as her smile became warmer. "That was definitely one I didn't see coming. I'll have to keep that in mind from now on." She drew her next card and took the path it offered to her. "I summon Kuriboh and activate Multiply, sacrificing it for five Kuriboh Tokens. Then I activate Detonation, sacrificing all five of my Kuriboh tokens to destroy all five of your cards." One by one, each miniature duplicate of the original Kuriboh slammed into one of Momiji's cards, and one by one they were all destroyed in a series of devastating explosions. "And now we're both back where we started. Your turn, Momiji."

"So it would seem, Asuka." From the look on his face, it was clear that he needed to draw a monster he could summon, else he would not last long at all. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and tapped the water with his foot. He opened his eyes, watched the rings as they grew outward, and drew his card. "I summon Pinch Hopper from my hand and attack you directly for one thousand points of damage." Momiji's monster leaped as high as it could across the lake and landed right on Asuka, bounding off of her to return to Momiji.

"And now I summon Mother Grizzly and destroy your Pinch Hopper for four hundred points of damage." Asuka's monster dived underwater and swam until it was directly beneath Momiji's, at which point it leaped up and used its claws to tear it apart and its jaws to feed upon what was left.

"And now that Pinch Hopper has been sent from the field to the grave, I activate its effect to special summon Ultimate Insect Level Seven from my hand." The first sign of its presence was the hum generated by its wings. As it came in closer and closer, waves appeared in the water, chaotically splashing against one another. By the time it was in place, the water had been worked into a boiling froth, but Asuka stood unfazed in the face of that power.

"I set one card, and end my turn." Asuka maintained her cool expression to conceal her inner doubts; if Momiji didn't act as she expected him, if he didn't make just the right move…

"My turn." He eyed Asuka's face down card as he drew his card. "This will be the moment of truth, Asuka; will you be able to advance and face Echo, thereby upholding the pattern that I've observed, or will I crush you here and now, uncovering a new truth in the process?"

"It all depends on you Momiji, on how you choose to face the challenge I've put before you."

"That it does." He cracked a smile for a moment. "I must admit, regardless of whatever outcome this duel has, I've already reached a most important conclusion; I regret that we'd never dueled prior to this moment."

"Heh, I have to agree with you on that; it's not often that I can duel someone as cool and rational as you. Sure, Judai's passion is great and I wouldn't exchange it for anything in the world…" she paused for a moment, recalling the moment when Momiji attack Fog King with Lord Poison, and how in that instant he seemed just like Judai.

"I understand exactly what you mean, Asuka; truth be told, whenever Misawa and I duel, he always gets heated up and almost loses all sense of reason and planning."

"Well, in case you didn't notice, he really does love you."

"In turn, it is very obvious how much Judai loves you."

"And the both of them, they love us for who we are on the inside." Asuka knew exactly what Momiji was going to say before he said it.

"Regardless of how awkward and inconvenient we sometimes find our outward forms, they never do." Momiji smiled warmly, and sighed. "Well, as pleasant as this was, we should resume the duel." Asuka nodded in affirmation. "I sacrifice Ultimate Insect Level Seven to special summon Ultimate Insect Level Ten from my hand." Momiji's monster pulsed and shook, cracks formed along its hide, and then, an explosion of light. When Asuka could open her eyes once more, she saw a small, light figure, androgynous in shape with almost indiscernible antennae and wings. "So long as Ultimate Insect Level Ten is on the field, all other monsters on the field have their attack power reduced to zero, and once per turn I can destroy a spell or trap card on the field. In return, I must discard a card during my standby phase to keep it on the field." A long, dexterous finger was pointed at Asuka's card, which then extended to puncture and destroy it. Then it flapped its wings, spreading natural chemicals onto Mother Grizzly's body, crippling it. "I now attack your monster for three thousand points of damage."

It did as promised, and Asuka's life points were brought to zero. Yet, from the look on his face, he was not the least bit surprised to find that the duel wasn't over. "I take it you recognize it now, my Final Miracle trap card?"

"You used it quite well against my cousin Takuma." He watched as Mother Grizzly's effect was activated, the water swelling in anticipation of Asuka's new monster.

"And I plan to use it to equal effect here and now, by using Mother Grizzly's effect to special summon Ritua Abyss from my deck, allowing me to add Ritua Chain from my deck to my hand." Standing on the cusp of victory and defeat, Asuka focused her will, and drew her next card. "I activate Divine Foresight; by removing a Cyber Angel monster in my grave from play, I can pick up one card in my deck for each level of the removed monster, and rearrange the cards I picked up in whatever order I desire. Thus, I remove Amaterasu in my grave from play to rearrange the top ten cards in my deck." Glowing cards flew out from her deck and passed before her eyes, dancing in accordance with her will before returning. "Now I summon Ritua Chain and activate its effect; I pick up the top three cards of my deck, and if any of them are Ritual Spells or Ritual Monsters, I can reveal them to you to add them to my hand."

"No doubt all three of them will fit into the designated categories?"

"Right you are; Machine Angel Ritual, Cyber Angel Inari, and Cyber Angel Dakini. Thus, I activate Machine Angel Ritual and sacrifice Abyss, Chain, and Inari to Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Dakini, whose effect will destroy your Ultimate Insect Level Ten." The war goddess struck swiftly, faster than even the Ultimate Insect could follow with its antennae. Its second strike was even quicker, defeating Momiji in an instant.

"That was a very satisfactory duel, Asuka." Momiji was vanishing fast, so he quickly grabbed his Ultimate Insect Level Ten card from his duel disc, and threw it to Asuka. "Be sure to tell me all about your duels with Echo and Judai, I have every confidence that you'll do marvelously in both." And then, he was gone.

"Don't worry Momiji, you'll be the first to know."


	47. Chapter 47

Final Calm

* * *

"Congratulations Judai, Asuka." Kouyou Hibiki said with weariness in his voice. "I was certain that you two would make it this far, but it's still a great relief to see you both here in this time and place." He stood up and walked towards them as they held their friends in their arms. "Look." He took out the God Card, which was now glowing, pulsing as though it had a heart, as though it were alive, but still the name of the card could not be made out. "It's almost complete. One of you," he said as he included Echo in his gaze, "Will soon have the opportunity to wield this card, and stand at the peek of the dueling world."

"But first, we need to take our friends to Head Nurse Ayukawa." Asuka said, her focus divided between Kouyou and Echo. "Then we'll be back to deal with you." Echo's expression was impassive, keeping any and all possible chinks in her armor hidden.

"Of course." Amon Garam said as he cleaned his glasses. "There is no need for impatience. In any event, I would have requested a brief recess, so this works out well for all of us."

"Then it is settled; one final reprieve, and then we shall meet up at the arena worthy of us." He pointed to the place where the Duel Tower would rise, and vanished.

"Kouyou…" Judai muttered to himself as he shifted Emi Tanaka's weight in his arms. His thoughts were jumbled as he and Asuka made their way one last time to Ayukawa's office; his duel with Emi had been a great reprieve, but as the task before him came ever closer to its final conclusion, he couldn't help but worry. He knew that Ayukawa had said it was good that he worried like this, that it proved that he hadn't become so hardened as to lose what made him him, but that didn't mean he'd ever like it, that he wouldn't like that assurance that things would work out the way he hoped they would. "Asuka." They were halfway there to Ayukawa's office when he noticed how focused her face was. "How do you do it? Ever since I've first met you, you've always been able to keep your cool, your drive no matter what."

"Not always, Judai." She said without losing a step, without losing her path. "There've been plenty of times before when I couldn't see, like when we dueled the Terror of Death, or when I joined the Association of Light. No matter how strong I may be, I know that there are going to be times when I can't handle it on my own. But," She said as she acquired an eager smile, "so long as I have you and everyone else, that isn't an issue. It's the same for you, right Judai?"

"Yeah, you're right." Judai said, feeling his lagging confidence being restored. Sure, this was far from the first time he'd heard this, but every little bit helped. "We just have to keep on moving forward, keep on fighting, and we'll find the truth we're looking for."

"Unexpectedly well said, Judai Yuki." Judai and Asuka both stopped in their tracks as they saw Ryoko standing just inside the doorway to Ayukawa's office. "Fubuki's inside, seeing if he can find just the right sweet nothing to whisper into Manjoume's ears to make him wake up." She looked back inside, a faint smile on her face. "You two should hurry, we have much to discuss." Judai and Asuka nodded and did as Ryoko suggested. Within moments of entering, Ayukawa guided them to the remaining beds where they carefully deposited Emi and Momiji's unconscious bodies.

"Asuka," Fubuki called out as he rose up from his haunches. "I trust that the cards I gave you were instrumental in making it this far?" He then made his way over to her, leaving behind the resting Manjoume. "And now I have something else to give to you for your upcoming duels." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a cell phone, one that flipped open and closed. It was presently open, and the caller ID identified the last call as having been from 'mother'. "After getting to know Takuma and Mizuchi Saiou, Ryoko and I decided to taka a look in the area around Amon and Echo's cabin."

"As you can see," Ryoko said as she rejoined in the conversation, leaving Emi Tanaka's side in the process. "The item in question was open, and we've been informed about Mrs. Garam's unsuccessful efforts to contact her daughter Echo. From this, we've surmised that Echo threw this away after the call had been made, and it is likely that she knew exactly why her mother called. Asuka, Judai, do either of you have any ideas?"

"How can we?" Asuka said with unconcealed bitterness. "Every time we find out anything it about those two, it just raises more questions, more contradictions. The only thing that has been consistent is that woman's unwavering devotion to that bastard…" Her voice fell silent as her lips continued to move. She took hold of the cell phone and systematically pressed the keys on it to bring up the call history. "That's what I thought; of all the calls on this phone, none were to or from Amon himself."

"But, didn't they say that she didn't need words to speak to him, or something like that?" Judai said, trying his best to follow where Asuka was going.

"Maybe in person, maybe in front of us for show, but we both know that there've been plenty of times when they've been apart. They'd have to be able to speak over the phone under those circumstances, yet they don't. It can't just be a matter of choice, there has to be a reason why she refuses to ever speak to him."

"And you think this reason is connected in some way to the call from her mother?" Ryoko asked with an inquisitive look on her face.

"Possibly, there's still too much we don't know about the Garam family…no." Asuka's eyes grew wide with realization. "Judai, you remember those images of Echo's duel with Momoe?"

"Yeah, I do!" Judai said, pounding his fist into his hand in affirmation. "Those were from Amon's point of view, not Echo's."

"Right." Asuka turned back to Ryoko and Fubuki. "We don't have all the pieces quite yet, but I think we've got a grasp on the shape of this puzzle. All that's left is filling in the blanks, and there's just one way to do that. You ready Judai?"

"Absolutely." He joined Asuka's side, they bowed to their seniors, and made their way to the site of the Duel Tower.

* * *

"Just three more duels, Echo." Amon stood facing her, keeping his distance. "Three more times that I must ask you to draw upon the power of your soul in my name, that all of our dreams might be fulfilled. Know that once you've done this for me, I can ask for nothing more than your continued love." Her face was so warm, so tender, the face of the woman he loved, the face only he was ever privileged to see.

She stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and cupped his face in her hand. She held him like this for an indeterminate time, the seconds and minutes blurring together. In her eyes, Amon could see her heart's desire, a world in where moments like this could be freely had by everyone. That the path to that ideal world involved such conflict, such strife, such manipulation, was just another condemnation of the world that they lived in and sought to change.

"The world created by the Garams and their ilk shall be torn apart before their very eyes." He said as he took Echo's chin in his hand. "The very tools and methods they used to benefit themselves, what more fitting fate could befall them than to have those tools turned against them?" He laughed, low and hearty. "Cogito ergo sum, Echo; we know who we are and what we are capable of, and now we shall take that truth, and make it the very name of God." The two released one another and walked side by side to the site of their final battles.

* * *

"Attention everyone." Principal Samejima said as she spoke into the PA system, reaching the ears of every student and every member of the faculty. "All classes and assignments shall be suspended so that you may witness the most important duels yet of our time. Follow your teachers, and gather in the main duel stadium. That is all." Samejima turned off the PA system, and stood to look Kouyou Hibiki in the eye. "Is that satisfactory?"

"Yes it is, and I greatly appreciate your cooperation, Principal Samejima." Kouyou walked over to the window, and looked out at the island that existed for dueling. "I remember the first time we met, back when the foundation for this institution was still being laid. You asked me how I expected to stay World Champion if I was helping to raise the caliber of the next generation of duelists."

"And you told me that the title was merely a title." Samejima walked up to him, and looked down upon the same landscape that he was looking at. "So long as you could enjoy a duel, it didn't matter whether you were fighting live in front of millions, or trying to defeat your sister just one time, just to prove that it could be done."

"That's right." Kouyou sighed wistfully. "I have to be honest with you Samejima, I truly wish that I could have avoided all this. This suffering, this strife, all the circuitous plotting and manipulation, all of it."

"Then why didn't you?" Samejima grabbed Kouyou's shoulder and forced him to face her. "Why was it so important that you create that God Card of yours? Why is it so important that you cast yourself in the role of the villain, and ally yourself with someone like Amon Garam? Why can't you just explain to us, show us why all this is necessary?"

Kouyou took off his glasses, and polished them. "The heart is the seat of a duelist's power, their passion. All though it can be refined by reason, it can not be stirred or moved by it." He put his glasses back on. "Only an honest heart, driven by true emotions, can unlock the necessary power. Only with the passion to seek out the impossible, can the truth be obtained. Once the champion claims the God Card, you will understand." He paused. "Judai, Asuka, Echo, they're almost there. It's time for me to go."

"Wait!" Samejima yelled out, but it was too late; Kouyou was gone. He had vanished with the same suddenness with which he had first appeared in her office. "Damn you…" And so she left her office as well so as to witness the final battles that Kouyou had so carefully staged for them all.

* * *

"Thank you for coming, everyone." Kouyou said as he stood tall upon the Duel Tower, stood between Judai and Asuka on one side and Amon and Echoo on the other. Judai and Amon kept their gaze upon Kouyou, while Asuka and Echo kept theirs on each other. "The time is nigh, when the Duel King is crowned, when the throne is claimed once more. In accordance with the nature of our final duelists, we shall begin with a match between Asuka and Echo, to determine who will go on to face Judai."

"Thank you, Kouyou Hibiki." Echo said as she strode forth, away from Amon. "Asuka, since the last time we dueled, we've both been through many battles, and through all of mine, I've remained untouched, an absolute citadel for the True King. Do you believe that you will be able to mount a successful siege against me?"

"What I believe," Asuka said as she gingerly gripped Judai's hand one last time before advancing, "is that I will tear down those walls, rip apart that armor, and see you for who you really are." She armed her Duel Disc simultaneously with Echo's.

And together, they called out, "Let's duel!"


	48. Chapter 48

Absolute Truth Embodied in Silence

* * *

"I'll go first." Asuka said as she drew her card. "I summon Mother Grizzly in attack position, and set one card to end my turn." As her massive bear roared, Asuka met Echo's glare; cold and uncompromising, absolute in it's intensity, more and more Asuka felt that she knew exactly what dwelled behind those eyes. "It really was impressive, the way you've managed to get this far without taking so much as a single point of damage."

"Hardly; every opponent I have faced thus far since taking up the mantle of the duelist has simply been unworthy of me, and of my cause. Only you, Asuka Tenjouin, have held even the potential to challenge me, to allow me to realize my power and prove that my dreams can be fulfilled." All throughout, Echo's expression remained unchanged, as though she were trying to become like one of the faceless monsters she wielded in her deck. "Do not disappoint me Asuka, I can not afford an inglorious victory so close to the end."

"What you can't afford, is to win at all." In turn, Asuka's presence was unwavering. "After all, all you want with the God Card is to turn it over to Amon so that he can fulfill his self-indulgent messianic fantasies that let him justify whatever twisted course of action occurs to him."

"Ignorant child." Echo's voice remained steady, but her eyes narrowed sharply. "You imagine that you can turn my devotion to Amon, to the one person who can rise above this world and reveal the truth to all, against me? Know this." Echo drew her card. "The sacrifices I've made are far beyond anything you could comprehend. You've lived a soft, coddled life, sheltered from the truth of this world, from those who dwell at the top and the power that they wield over lives of the countless teeming masses. Daitokuji and his experiments, the Saious and their powers, they are nothing compared to that all encompassing truth that you can't even see."

"If you're so certain," Asuka flashed a momentary grin, "then why not prove it? Why not just tell me, show me this power, this truth so great as to demand a God to counter it, instead of just cryptically referring to it?"

"I shall tell you through my deck, and activate Holy Castle." The Duel Tower shuddered as the Holy Castle tore through it, reaching up to the very firmament itself. "I summon Ritual Devil Presider to the field, and attack your Mother Grizzly." A heavy set, green skinned demon manifested on the field, tiny shield in one hand and a long thin rapier in the other. It charged, resembling nothing so much as it did a boulder full of malicious intent.

"Trap card activate, Blizzard Curtain!" A sheet of frost cut off Ritual Devil Presider's advance, and was in turn sliced apart by a plane of purple light.

"By discarding Herald of Purple Light and Herald of Red Light, I negate your trap card, and in accordance with Holy Castle, I now draw one card." As the celestial choir made itself heard, Presider reached its target. Mother Grizzly roared as it bore down on Echo's monster, but the Ritual Devil simply skewered the beast right through the heart for 400 points of damage. "Once again, the difference between us is simply too great. Even with all the growth you've undergone since the last time, you still can't reach the heavens."

"A bit premature to say that, don't you think?" Waves of water crashed over the parapets of the Holy Castle. "Mother Grizzly's effect still activates, allowing me to special summon Cure Mermaid from my deck, and during my standby phase her effect will activate to let me recover eight hundred life points. It would seem that your efforts to control this duel have been a wash."

Cure Mermaid raised her trident to call upon her rejuvenating power, and was promptly blinded by a brilliant orange light. "Now who's speaking presumptuously?" Echo discarded Herald of Orange Light and Grace of Wisdom from her hand, and through Holy Castle's effect she drew another card. Once all was said and done, nothing remained of Asuka's monster. "Remember, my deck is one with my soul, my will; driven by purpose sanctified in purity, it is impossible for me to be defeated by anything less then that."

"Your will?" Asuka scoffed a bit. "What about the wills of Mr. and Mrs. Garam? Where do their wills end, and yours begin?"

"Their desires mean nothing to me." Echo said with eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Of course they don't. That's why you threw this away, isn't it?" With that, Asuka pulled Echo's cell phone from her own coat pocket. "Your mother, Agape Garam; you knew that she would demand your return in the face of Amon's insubordination, and if you heard her say this, you would have had no choice but to obey."

"You lump me in with the eight that Amon manipulated in accordance with Kouyou Hibiki's design for the creation of the God Card? You think that I had been molded to be your ideal opponent, Asuka Tenjouin?" Echo shook her head. "And I thought I dared to think highly of you."

"You don't think highly enough of me, Echo Garam." Asuka then took a quick look at Amon, and saw that he still smiled beneficently upon Echo. Her eyes betrayed her, and Echo wasted no time picking up on that. "I summon Ice Knight in defense position, and end my turn."

"All your empty posturing, all your meaningless accusations, they now stand bare and exposed. I see now that there was never any hope that you could bring the challenge I needed, and I will end this duel with all haste." Echo drew her next card. "I discard Herald of Blue Light from my hand to add Herald Promise and Perfect Herald to my hand while drawing another card in accordance with Holy Castle's effect. And now I activate Herald Promise, sacrificing Ritual Devil Presider on my field and Ritual Devil Prognosticator in my hand to ritual summon the Perfect Herald."

The heavens cried out as one, and their prayers were answered by the offerings Echo presented to them. Light gathered before her, and took the form of her most devastating monster. "Now, in accordance with Herald Promise's effect, I return Ritual Devel Presider to my hand, and summon it back to the field. Furthermore, I now equip Perfect Herald with Ritual Weapon, raising its attack power to thirty-three hundred points. Presider, destroy Ice Knight." The Ice Knight's shield and armor were as tissue before Presider's blade. "Now, Perfect Herald, speak; reveal unto Asuka the truth of my power, and how helpless she is against it."

Asuka felt as though she had been struck by the Fist of God, crushed by the Hammer of Heaven. She'd been left with nothing on her field, and almost no life points, while Echo had her most powerful monster on the field, one that could counter any card she played indefinitely thanks to the Holy Castle's presence. "It is not hopeless." Asuka quickly looked back to Judai; just as Amon's support for Echo never wavered, neither had his for her. "I will break away that armor of yours, and force the true you into the light."

"Unfortunately for you, your ability to make good on that threat is dwindling fast; because I used Prognosticator as a sacrifice for Perfect Herald, whenever it does damage you must discard one card from your hand."

"Gladly." Asuka already knew exactly which card she would pick. "I discard Cyber Petite Maiden, and when sent to the grave, I may add a Ritual Spell Card and a Cyber Angel monster from my deck to my hand. In this way, I will claim Machine Angel Ritual and Cyber Angel Inari." But as Asuka reached for her deck, the Perfect Herald called down a member of the Hosts of Heaven, denying her this chance. And once more, the Holy Castle shined, renewing Echo's hand.

"That concludes my turn." Echo said, not bothering to disguise the disappointment in her voice. In turn, Asuka did nothing to hide the determination in her eyes. "Tell me, do you imagine the strength you draw from that boy will let you overcome mine? He is no more then a frightened child, so terrified of power that he would destroy it forever given the chance, condemning those in need to suffer forevermore; how is that to compare against one who's vision encompasses the entire world, abandoning no one in need?"

"That's something that someone like you, someone so isolated from the truth, so thoroughly trapped that they can not even see their prison, can understand." Asuka placed her hand on the top card of her deck. "There is no virtue in a love that would justify harming others. There is no merit in a grace that sees fit to use people as pawns, tools for their own good. These are things that become meaningless when they become so twisted that they can be used to justify any means. After all, if you can justify the means, you can justify the ends." Asuka saw a vision of two forces, of the Darkness and the Light, and the ones who stood within them with the intent to use that power to impose their will upon all. "Echo, no matter how great your power may be, you can't gain the freedom from the Garams this way, not so long as you use their methods."

"No, I am free." Echo's eyes flared open. "Of all those who have walked this Earth, of all those who've loved and hated, who've sacrificed and persevered, none have ever been so free as I. All that I have done throughout all of my life, I have done because I believed in it, because I chose to do it."

"It seems I've finally found a chip in your armor, Echo." Asuka drew her card, and played it. "I summon Ritua Abyss and activate its effect to add Ritua Chain from my deck to my hand." As expected, Perfect Herald's effect negated her monster's effect, but when the Holy Castle shined, it's gift fell into hands that could make no use of it. "And now you've failed to draw an Angel-type monster, so now I can activate my cards without issue; while I control no cards, I remove Ice Knight in my grave along with Mother Grizzly and Cure Mermaid to draw three cards, one for each card that you control." Asuka glanced at her new hand. "And now I activate Sacred Shinto Shrines of Ise, destroying your Holy Castle in the process."

Echo stood her ground as her castle crashed down all around them, the peaceful shrines dedicated to the sacred taking its place. "Next, I discard Kuriboh and Big Wave Little Wave to add Sublime Water Ritual and Cyber Angel Amaterasu from my deck to my hand, and with Sublime Water Ritual, I send Cold Enchanter, Cyber Ice Valkyrie, and Frost Tiger from my deck to the grave to Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Amaterasu to the field!" The goddess of the sun made her presence known, and with her bow she fired an arrow of light through the Perfect Herald, allowing Asuka to recover 1800 life points, and dealing 300 points of damage to Echo, causing her to hunch over. "Now I'll set one card, and end my turn."

"You damaged me?" Echo looked down at herself, and smiled. "And you destroyed my Perfect Herald." She drew herself back up. "Now my victory will be meaningful. Thank you Asuka; because of you, I will now have the proof that I seek, that my power truly can create a miracle and make the divine real." She drew her next card. "I switch Ritual Devil Presider to defense, summon Manju of the Thousand Hands in defense and activate its effect to add Divine Grace Northwemko from my deck to my hand, and set one card to end my turn." For the first time in any duel of hers that Asuka had seen, Echo seemed charged, invested in it on an emotional level.

"That assumes you'll still win, and that's not something you can take for granted, not anymore." Asuka took her turn, drew her card. "I discard Illusion Ice Sculpture and Icicle Sacrifice to activate Sacred Shinto Shrine of Ise's effect once more, adding Ritual of Reflection and Cyber Angel Dakini from my deck to my hand. Now I activate Ritual of Reflection, removing Cold Enchanter and Frost Tiger in my grave from play to Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Dakini from my hand, activating her effect to destroy one monster of your choice."

"That would have to be Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands." Asuka's second goddess struck swiftly and decisively, and then attacked again, tearing through Presider's meager defenses and dealing 1300 points of damage to Echo.

"And now to see if you can overcome this finishing blow; Cyber Angel Amaterasu, attack directly!" Once more the arrow of light was drawn, and once more the arrow was fired.

"Trap card activate, Sublime Fulfillment." The space around the arrow warped until it vanished from existence. "When I am attacked directly, I can negate that attack, and special summon a Ritual Monster from my hand with it's effect negated." The Divine Grace Northwemko appeared on the field, it's presence equal to that of Dakini's. "And now I will take my turn." She drew her card, and smiled. "A duel where I need to use this card just to recover lost ground, truly magnificent." Echo grinned as she played the card in question. "Spell card, Dark Method; when I control a level six or higher Ritual Monster, I can remove from play up to two monsters you control, and deal one thousand points of damage for each one." Dark energy like the night coiled around Northwemko's staff, and then extended around Asuka's monsters. "Furthermore, no card can be activated until this effect is resolved."

Cyber Angel Amaterasu tried to draw upon the power of the sun within her, but the night was quick beyond measure, obliterating both of Asuka's monsters in less than the blink of an eye. That dark energy then exploded against Asuka, bringing her down to just 100 life points. "It is unfortunate, but I do have to skip my battle phase as a result of playing Dark Method…what?" Echo watched as a subtle light gathered on Asuka's side of the field.

"My trap card, Coming of the Angel; on the turn that one of my Cyber Angels have been removed from the field, I can special summon from my deck a Cyber Angel of lower level. Therefore, I bring Cyber Angel Inari from my deck in defense position." Asuka's will remained as strong as ever. "You're not the only one who thrives against a real challenge, Echo." She drew her next card, and then basked in Inari's radiance, recovering 1000 life points during her standby phase. "I activate Divine Draw, allowing me to send Machine Angel Ritual from my deck to my grave to draw two cards." She took a good look at her new cards. "Next, I play Goddess's Ascent, paying one thousand life points to return Amaterasu and Dakini from either my grave or my removed from play zone to my hand."

Then, the myriad Shinto Shrines of Ise began to crumble. "When I have three Ritual Spell cards in my grave, I can send my field spell card to the grave to summon a Ritual Monster from my hand. Return, Amaterasu!" Once more, the sun shined upon the field. "And finally, I equip Inari with Ritual Weapon, raising her attack power to thirty-five hundred, and have her destroy Northwemko." As the normally defensive goddess struck, Echo stood frozen. All that was left was for Amaterasu to attack, and then it would be over.

"I've…I've lost?" Echo said the words in disbelief, as though her tongue was not suited to shape them.

"No, you have not." Amon Garam called out as he held out a gun, pointed directly at Judai's heart. "Echo, all this time you've fought for me, supported me in all my ambitions and have never once asked for anything. Did you really think that I would not be prepared to help you in return." He then turned his smiling face from Echo, and glared at Asuka. "Surrender Asuka Tenjouin, that is your only choice."

"Amon." Judai said, his voice shaking as he bore witness to his own mortality. "Kouyou, you have to stop him!" But the grand conductor of the tournament made no move, no sign of acknowledgement.

"Amon." Asuka growled. "You really are a bastard down to the core, aren't you? All that sophistry about having noble intentions, about regretting what you had to do to get this far, now we all know what it really amounts to."

"Go ahead." Amon chuckled. "Call me a devil, a monster, whatever you want; I had long ago resolved to change the world, to do whatever was necessary to enlighten the people and allow Shido to grow up without the burden of sin that belongs to all who bear the Garam family name. But know that it is your choice that will decide the ending; your love, or your victory? Which will you sacrifice for the other, Asuka Tenjouin?"

Everyone stood silent, gripped by Amon's unwavering, fatal hand. Asuka looked at Judai, saw the fear and resolution in his eyes, and in turn she stood defiant before Amon's threat of force. He began to contract his finger, make contact with the trigger…

"Amon." Echo said as she faced away from him. He paused, and watched her turn to face him, tears welling in her eyes. "Stop."

He did.

Echo walked up to Amon as he stood frozen in place, and removed the gun from his hand. He offered no resistance, no response save the shock and horror in his eyes.

"It was him?" Asuka felt her jaw drop at the revelation before her; Amon Garam, the plotter and schemer who unashamedly manipulated all those around him, who had Echo act for him on the battlefield and sought the wisdom and power of a God to fulfill his ambitions, the man who defied the will of those who'd taken him in…he was the one who'd been conditioned, his was the will that had been enslaved?

Echo put the gun away, and then faced Asuka and Judai. "You've won, Asuka. My defeat is absolute; all that I have sought, all that I have fought for, I have lost forever with my own hands." The tears flowed continuously down her cheeks, her voice shook and trembled as she spoke. Her bereaved sobs were all that could be heard, until Amon started laughing.

It was hollow, mirthless, a laugh that cut deep into the soul. "A child, abandoned in the middle of a desert, in the vicinity of some unnamed ruins, and two of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world just happen to find him, and take him in? Truly, my conditioning must have been powerful indeed to not recognize what a farce that story was. And of course, why would I ever doubt my companion, the one brought into my life by those who saw me as little more than a tool to be used for the greater glory of the Garam Group?" Amon looked up at an unadorned sky, took the vastness of the heavens into his eyes. "Cogito ergo sum? Ludicrous, a proclamation of blind faith, an empty hope conjured by a man who sought to deny the absence of truth in this world." He then turned away from them all, away from Echo as she fell down to her knees.

"Echo!" Judai yelled as he ran up to her and took hold of her shoulders. "It isn't over yet, it never is." She looked at him silently, her sorrow frozen on her face.

"Why waste your breath, Judai Yuki?" Amon did not waste his time hiding the scorn in his voice. "You think that her tears are real, that there is cause to extend your sympathy to her?" He turned back around, and glared down at Echo. "All those lies throughout the years, spoken without saying a single word, never failing to conceal the power that you'd been granted over me. The Garams will be truly disappointed to learn that their efforts have been wasted, that my conditioning will have to be renewed." Echo's whole body shook, her sobs growing more and more inconsolable as Judai struggled to try and grasp her pain.

"Amon." Asuka declared as she walked up to him. "Is that what you really think has been driving Echo all this time? Do you really think that she's been fighting for so long, just to use you at the very end?"

"What does it matter what I think?" Amon said as he now glared into Asuka's eyes. "She need merely speak the word, and I will think whatever she wants. She need merely look me in the eye, and I will be helpless against her. In the face of such power, why should I feel the least bit sorry for her?"

"Because she loves you." Asuka then turned to face Echo. "You've loved him all your life, haven't you?"

"From the very moment he'd been brought to the Garam Household." Echo said as she chocked back her tears. "I knew then that he was different from everyone else I'd ever known, and I knew what my parents would do with him, it was why they adopted him to begin with. Day after day, night after night, they rigorously drilled him, instilled in him the identity they desired, wiping away all trace of the boy he once was. And then, they told me about the power that they'd given me over him, that all I had to do was to speak to him and he would do whatever I said. It was to be the ultimate failsafe, to ensure that he would never do anything that would jeopardize the power and holdings of the Garam Group. However, that power was delicate; for my voice to be able to effect him so exactly, I could not be subjected to the conditioning. I alone, could know the truth."

"And ever since, all you've ever wanted was for him to be free from that power." Echo gently pushed Judai away and stood up. She nodded, ever so slightly. "But, why did you stop him then? If gaining the power to set him free was all that mattered to you, why did you stop him from shooting Judai?" It wasn't that she was ungrateful, but she had to know, had to understand this woman that she only now saw for the first time.

"Asuka, you have seen death with your own eyes." For a moment, Asuka saw Daitokuji's corpse before her. "If I allowed Amon to kill, he would no longer be the one I loved. The moment I failed to defeat you, the moment he drew his gun to try and help me, that was the moment in which I knew that I would never have my heart's desire fulfilled. My dream, to be able to look in the eyes of the one I loved without lies or dishonesty, can never be."

"Then why do you continue to dither, Echo?" Anger and confusion dominated Amon's voice. "All these stories, these fables, these excuses, what do any of them matter now? You know that it's hopeless, so just bring the lie back to life and be done with it."

"Echo…" Judai watched as she turned to face Amon, watched how the older man seemed to welcome the obliteration of his new memories. And yet, Echo said nothing. Amon's eyes flared, as though demanding an answer from her.

"It's because it isn't hopeless." Asuka broke the silence between them. She looked into Echo's eyes, focused. "Even before Kouyou appeared to you, and told you about the God Card, you still believed that one day you could save Amon. You believed in your own power, that it could overcome even the conditioning of the Garams." Asuka sighed reproachfully. "Truthfully, even knowing the truth about Amon, I still despise him. But, the Amon I've known, that Judai's known, that even Kouyou's known, that's not the real Amon. You're the only one who ever knew the True Amon, and yours is the only power that can save that Amon. Even without the God Card, you are strong enough to do this, and you know it."

"…Let me ask you something, Asuka Tenjouin." Amon spoke cautiously. "Suppose that Echo truly does love me, that all she has ever done has been born of that love for me. Even so, there is no guarantee of success. In fact, there's no way either of us could know whether she's succeeded or not. In the end, what you are asking of us is that we have faith. Suppose you were in our positions, and you were told to just have faith that everything would somehow work out against all reason. Would you find that acceptable?"

"Of course, that's how I live every day of my life; no matter how thoroughly I may plan certain things, no matter how rigorously I might think my actions through, I know that at any time my whole world can be turned upside down on me. It's happened to me many times here at Duel Academia, and I know that more such things will happen when I graduate and return to the outside world. But, I am able to get through all of this because I believe in myself, in my friends," Asuka then took Judai's hand and pulled him in, "and I believe in the one I love, even when he doubts himself. And he does the same for me. Together, our souls shine so much brighter than any God. So yes, even though I have no certainty, I can still have faith."

Echo and Amon looked silently upon one another, cautious and afraid. Then Amon reached out and took hold of Echo's chin in his hand, and smiled. She acted in kind, and then started to hum. Amon joined in, and whatever song they were thinking of was theirs and theirs alone. They then joined hands, and made their way to the elevator that would take them down to ground level, neither one speaking a single word along the way. They entered the elevator, and just before the doors closed, Echo took a card from her deck and threw it to Asuka. Asuka's monsters then vanished, the long duel finally over.

"Are you sure about this, Asuka?" Judai looked down at the card in Asuka's hand, the Demise of Defeat. "After everything they've done, are you really okay with letting them walk away like this?"

"…For over two years, I held onto my hate for Daitokuji. When I saw him die, saw him sacrifice his life to save mine in a twisted effort to preserve his legacy, I couldn't do that anymore. I can't forgive him, and I don't plan to forgive them, but the only hope I can have is that they will find themselves, and the means to redeem themselves."

"Okay." Judai then hugged her, held her tight. "I don't think I've told you often enough how much you amaze me, Asuka Tenjouin."

"Indeed." Kouyou Hibiki said, now finally interested in making himself heard. "That was a duel worthy of a candidate of the God Card. Judai, you will have to duel at your highest level if you still have any hope to face me."

"Don't worry Kouyou." Judai stepped back until he was the appropriate distance from his love. "Whenever I face Asuka, I always push myself beyond my limits."

"And I you." Asuka and Judai armed their duel discs simultaneously.

"Let's duel!"


	49. Chapter 49

Rivalry Resolved

* * *

"I'll go first." Judai called out as he drew his card. "I activate E-Emergency Call to add Stratos to my hand, and by summoning him I add Ocean to my hand. Finally, I play Hero's Bond to special summon Ocean along with Woodsman from my hand in defense. Finally, I set three cards to end my turn." A wind storm was the sign of his first hero, a crashing wave the sign of the second, and the branch of an oak tree the third. Following each one's arrival was a card, a hidden protector to keep them safe. Judai had held nothing back, kept no cards in his hand. Like he told Kouyou, Asuka was an opponent he couldn't hold back against, and it seemed his deck agreed with him.

"Good opening move Judai; Woodsman to retrieve Fusion, Ocean to return Stratos to your hand and fetch another Hero or destroy some of my traps, and three cards to keep me from doing anything about it." That grin on her face was like nothing else in the whole world, Judai couldn't imagine a more beautiful sight if he tried. Not that he did, of course. He'd known Asuka far too long to even want to contemplate a thought like that. "Unfortunately for you, this is where your strategy falls apart." Asuka drew her card, not even looking at it. "I play Icicle Sacrifice, giving up one of my monster zones to special summon an Icicle Token, which I sacrifice to summon Blizzard Princess from my hand!"

As the young, blue-haired maiden danced onto the field, she swung her flail, as big as the whole of her body, and spread its cold onto Judai's face-down cards, freezing them in place. "As I thought, not a single trap to activate against a summon. You really need to learn to prepare yourself for more than just the battle phase."

"Sorry Asuka, old habits die hard I guess; I just like getting to the part of the game where our monsters actually fight, when our souls clash in a way that no other game can match."

"I have to admit, when it comes down to it I'm not that much different from you. I have a few destruction effects in my deck, a bit more control to my strategy, but the core is the same, like two sides of a coin." Asuka chuckled a bit. "But only one side can land on top; Blizzard Princess attack and destroy Elemental Hero Ocean!" The maiden fair took her flail in her hands and swung it around, building up momentum before hammering it down upon the blue hero, crushing his whole body in a single go.

"That's just what I'd expect of you Asuka; you could have done one thousand damage to me if you'd destroyed Stratos, but you got rid of Ocean and his ability to bring back my heroes."

"Well, you had to learn to plan ahead from someone, right? May as well have been me after all those times I defeated you."

"Hey! Don't go claiming all the credit, I learned a lot about dueling from Midori and…" Judai felt his voice falter. "…Kouyou." He looked to the man that he'd thought of as his older brother, that he still thought of that way even now.

"Judai. Do not take your focus off this duel; if you wish to honor your opponent, if you wish to have the chance to face me, than give Asuka your all." Kouyou spoke firmly, decisively, not even allowing so much as the possibility of a response.

"Unfortunately, he's right Judai." Asuka said as she set four cards of her own. "Right now we need to set everything else aside, even that which lies at stake in this duel. Just try and keep your mind on the duel itself, and we'll make it through this." She smiled. "I've ended my turn, it's time for you to take yours." With that, Judai's frozen cards thawed out, restoring his ability to use them once more.

"Right." Judai drew his card and felt a great burst of heat coming from it. "I now activate the effect of my Woodsman, and add Fusion from my deck to my hand." In addition to Woodsman, he still had Stratos on the field; an Earth attribute and a Wind attribute, giving him two options for what to summon. Then Judai looked at Asuka's face down cards; he had a pretty good notion of what one of them was, and there was no way she would waste its effect on anything less than what he had in mind. "And now I play Fusion, combining Woodsman and Stratos to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Gaia!"

"Quick spell, Instant Freeze!" A focused blast of biting wind crashed into Judai's card, forcing it face-down. "You saw that coming, and you went for it anyway."

"You didn't leave me much choice; at least this way, I can try again in three turns." Judai flashed a grin. "Besides, it clears the way for me to activate Hero Blast to return Ocean to my hand, and then summon him back in defense." Waves rose and fall in accordance with Ocean's changing position on the dueling field. "Now I put Stratos in defense and end my turn."

"Ah, but will you be able to capitalize on that recovery?" Asuka drew her next card. "It's all going to depend on those cards of yours in the back, for now I activate Divine Draw." Judai watched as she took out Ritual of Reflection and Sublime Water Ritual from her deck and sent them to the grave to draw three cards. "Since I just added it to my hand outside of the draw phase, I now special summon Frost Tiger from my hand, which also lets me activate my trap card Cruel Frost to destroy one monster you control of equal or lower level." Frost Tiger roared, his breath laced with ice like cruel blades. They eviscerated Elemental Hero Ocean. "Next, I normal summon Cold Enchanter, and sacrifice both monsters I just summoned to special summon Ice Master."

As the Ice Master stood at the Blizzard Princess's side, she looked like nothing so much as she did the young maiden's older sister. Blizzard Princess, seemingly eager to prove herself to her elder, attacked Woodsman with incredible force. "Trap card activate, Hero Barrier!" Her flail crashed against that invisible wall, and it took the Blizzard Princess considerable effort to bring it back under her control. Then Ice Master advanced, graceful and swift. She encased Woodsman in a block of ice, and then shattered it, destroying the hero for good. "Trap card, Hero Signal!" A young but no less brave hero took to the field, clad in armor of ice.

"Smart move Judai; Ice Edge can't be targeted by monster effects from monsters above level four, nor can it be destroyed through battle by the same." Asuka flashed a grin all her own. "Your turn, Judai."

"Damn, you really don't let up, do you Asuka?" Two heroes on his side of the field, one card in his hand, Judai knew he needed a lot more if he was going to overcome this wall. "My turn." He looked at the card he just drew; it seemed that he was going to give as good as he took in more ways than one. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot, allowing us both to draw three cards." Judai looked at his hand, and saw that it was good, just what he needed to take on everything Asuka had brought to bear. "I now play R-Righteous Justice, destroying one spell or trap card on the field for each Elemental Hero I control." Stratos and Ice Edge thrust their arms out, firing blasts of wind and ice at Asuka's face-down cards, destroying them.

"Good move Judai, and I bet you've got a strong follow up."

"You bet; I activate Miracle Fusion, removing Ice Edge and Stratos from play to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!" Ice Edge leaped back as Stratos's spirit arose from the grave, and then leaped forward again to join with his senior and become a new hero, one more than equal to the task at hand. "Absolute Zero gains five hundred attack points for every other Water attribute monster on the field, so with your two, that raises him to thirty-five hundred attack points." Absolute Zero grabbed onto his cape and spun around, gathering the ambient cold created by Asuka's monsters. "Elemental Hero Absolute Zero, attack Ice Master!"

Absolute Zero struck the ground before it, creating a path of iice between itself and its opponent. It dashed across that path, building speed and momentum in league of its own, more then enough to overrun Ice Master and drive her into the ground. Then Absolute Zero advanced further and leaped into the air, preparing for a deadly spinning kick to be brought down on Asuka's head. But, before the blow could connect, a familiar monster appeared to form an unbreakable wall.

"Kuriboh!" Judai cried out as Asuka discarded the monster of her soul to reduce her battle damage to zero. "Just like the first time we ever dueled." The memories overtook him, and when he looked into Asuka's eyes, he could see that they'd done the same with her.

"Back then, you were just this weird kid without a clue." Asuka laughed as Judai pouted a bit. "Come on, I tell you that my brother set up a stupid contest where the first guy who could beat me would be able to out with me, and all you want is to win so that it'll be over? Come on, all you knew about me was that I was the most popular girl in school, what boy wouldn't want to take advantage of that opportunity?"

"What?" Judai said with an honestly confused laugh. "What I knew about you back then was that you were one of the best duelists in the whole school, definitely the best in our class at any rate. I just couldn't stand the thought of someone as skilled and talented and devoted as you not being able to enjoy doing what you love. I'm pretty sure I told you all that back then."

"You did. But you know what you didn't tell me back then? Why you wanted my Kuriboh card so badly."

"Well, like you said, we hardly knew each other, and…it wasn't something I would tell just anyone." The memories drew back, receded into his subconscious once more. He looked to Kouyou. In return, he got nothing. Only the cold silence of isolation. "I set one card, and end my turn."

"My turn." Asuka grinned at her latest draw. "I activate Big Wave Little Wave and sacrifice Blizzard Princess to special summon Ice Queen from my hand." The princess vanished, and the queen appeared on her throne. She stood, her regalia shining in the sunlight, and Elemental Hero Absolute Zero found himself bowing in her presence. "With her effect, I pay five hundred life points to take control of one Water Attribute monster you control until my end phase." Absolute Zero pointedly avoided looking at Judai as it joined Ice Queen's side. "Absolute Zero, attack directly!"

Judai's hero did not hesitate to strike in accordance with the order of its new master. In turn, Judai did not hesitate to face down his own ally. "Quick spell activate, Flute of Summoning Kuriboh!" The Winged Kuriboh flew out of his deck and intercepted the attack, being destroyed almost instantly. But with its death cry it released a powerful blinding light that became as a wall around Judai.

"Well timed, Judai; with Winged Kuriboh's effect in place, my second attack becomes meaningless."

"And that's not all; at the end of your turn, I get Absolute Zero back."

"I wouldn't count on that, Judai." The ground beneath Absolute Zero's feet suddenly cracked open, revealing a deep subterranean river. "I activate River's Eternal Flow, sacrificing one Water attribute monster I control." Absolute Zero descended into that river and was taken into Judai's grave. Its spirit then appeared before Ice Queen, spiriting her off to her own grave in accordance with its effect. "Then, for every two levels of the monster I sacrificed, I can take one card from my deck, and put that card on top of my deck in whatever order I desire."

"No way." Judai's eyes were wide in awe. "This is…this is just like what you did against Echo." The memories of that most recent duel washed over Judai like a tidal wave that threatened to sweep him away.

"You've got multiple ways to fuse your monsters together. I've got multiple ways of performing my rituals. Well, I have nothing left in my hand, and nothing on my field. Your turn, Judai."

"You got it Asuka." Judai drew his card, looked at his hand. "I play O-Overcall to bring back Woodsman in my grave in defense position, and end my turn."

"Smart move Judai." Asuka drew her card and played it, knowing full well what it was. "I summon Ritua Chain and activate its effect to add Machine Angel Ritual, Cyber Angel Inari, and Cyber Angel Amaterasu from the top of my deck to my hand." Gentle beams of light shined down from the heavens onto the field. "I activate Machine Angel Ritual, sacrificing Chain on the field and Inari in my hand to Ritual Summon Amaterasu." An arrow of light shot down from on high, piercing through Woodsman's heart. Its body faded away as Asuka became rejuvenated, recovering 1000 life points in accordance with the power of the Goddess of the Sun. Finally, the Goddess in question descended on the field. "But now what? How do you plan to overcome my ultimate monster?"

"Overcome?" Judai shook his head. "Trust me Asuka, I'm not going to fall into that trap. If I want to win, I'm going to to have to think like a real hero, not just play at being one."

"Hmm, sounds like you've got a surprise up your sleeve. All right, show me what you've got in mind, Judai."

"Right." Judai drew his card. "I play Legacy of a Hero to draw three cards since I have at least two level four or higher heroes in my grave. Next, I play Hero's Gift, discarding Elemental Hero Sunlight to special summon Ocean and Woodsman back from the grave. And now that it's no longer frozen, I activate my face-down Fusion card to summon Elemental Hero The Earth!" Ocean and Woodsman leapt up into the clouds. Once out of sight, The Earth appeared, crashing down onto the field. "Elemental Hero The Earth, attack Cyber Angel Amaterasu."

"What?" Asuka said in a quizzical tone, but she shrugged her shoulders, trusting that despite appearances Judai knew what he was doing. "Very well, I activate Amaterasu's effect and remove Cyber Angel Inari in my grave from play to reduce The Earth's attack power to zero." Under that divine light, The Earth grew dim, becoming easy prey. It was destroyed for 3600 points of damage, leaving Judai with next to nothing.

"And now, I can discard a card from my hand to activate Final Sacrifice." A light appeared around each duelist. "When I have less than one thousand life points, I can remove an Elemental Hero in my grave from play to deal damage equal to the sum of its attack power and defense power to my opponent."

"Damn." Asuka said in honest admiration as The Earth's spirit appeared before her, declaring her complete defeat. "You needed me to activate Amaterasu's effect, or else you would have lost."

"I know you Asuka; there's no way you would ever pass up the chance to gain an edge on me, even if it did look like I'd lost my mind."

"That's because I know you well enough to know that you never lose your mind in a duel. I just didn't look far enough ahead this one time to see what you were really doing." Asuka approached Judai, her Cyber Angel Amaterasu vanishing. "I think that was our best match yet. I look forward to evening, and then tipping the score in the future once more."

"Heh, you never do let up, do you Asuka?" Judai reached out to her, and they clasped hands.

"Why would I? After all, my dream is to be the greatest duelist in the world, to have a soul so strong that I can move mountains. I can't exactly claim that if I don't keep pulling ahead of my number one rival, now can I?" Asuka smiled coolly, intent on holding Judai to her words.

"I suppose not." He said laughing, and when he pulled his hand back, he looked at it. "Asuka…are you sure?"

"Card of my soul, your prize for the tournament." Asuka patted him on the back, and made her way to the elevator down. "Now go on Judai, make your dream come true too." The doors closed behind her, and she was on her way down.

"Well done Judai." Kouyou said at last, his long silence broken. "You've earned the right to face me." Kouyou armed his duel disc and made his way to where Asuka had stood. "Now, show me your power that can name God and change the world."


	50. Chapter 50

Beyond the Path of the Hero

* * *

"Kouyou." Judai stood with his arms at his side, his duel disc unarmed. "Before we begin, there's something I want to know; Amon and Echo, why did you choose them for your plan? Did you know the truth about them all along?"

"The truth…" Kouyou took off his glasses, polished them once more. "As Amon himself learned, the truth is something that is never certain. Our most cherished beliefs about ourselves and our place in the world can be shattered effortlessly in but a single breath. When I dueled Midori, and forced our sister into a coma, your truth about me changed, and you were forced to learn from your friends and rebuild yourself with that new truth in mind. Without that one last break-and-rebuild, you would not have been able to reach me and claim the God Card as your own."

"You're not answering my question." Judai stood his ground, made plain his refusal to continue until he was satisfied.

"Of course. I guess I was trying to teach like Midori, and failed." Kouyou put his glasses back on. "I chose Amon and Echo, because their souls shined with a raw intensity that I had never seen before. I first explored Amon's dreams, and while what I saw held promise, there was a core of darkness hidden deep within, and every time I approached it, I was driven away. Naturally, I thought that it was something he was trying to keep secret from me, but then I looked to his companion and realized that it was she who kept me at bay." He paused to reflect. "In the Sea of Souls that lay between the World of the Living and the World of the Dead, I bore witness to many memories. The ones that drew my interest the most were of course concerning those of the Duel King and his friends; the bonds they shared allowed them to defy even the powers of the Millennium Items, so I knew that it was possible for Echo to do the same with Amon."

"Naturally, I investigated her dreams next, and immediately she brought her sword to my neck, surrounding me with the very hosts of heaven to deny any chance of escape for me. From where I stood though, I could see that Amon's presence did not extend back to her, as hers did to him. I realized then that she was hiding something from him, a secret so terrible that she dared not breathe a word to him for fear of exposing it. So I told her of my plans, of how I needed her and Amon to help create the God Card, and without a second thought she accepted my offer."

"It was only recently, not long after your friend Shou Marufuji challenged Katsuya Jounouchi to a duel, when I had the opportunity to learn just what that secret was. Once I did, I instantly understood the true role your dear friend Asuka had to play in all this, why I had chosen to guide and protect you both in your battles against the Association of Light last year."

"Why you had chosen…" Judai remembered what Takuma Saiou had said in their duel, his exact words. "Takuma Saiou, he said that the power that had chosen Asuka and me was intent on making humanity it's plaything, make our lives lose all validity and meaning." Judai raised his arm, held it out at his side. "For a long time, I couldn't reconcile how you could possibly have been the power he spoke of. I couldn't understand what could have happened to you, to make you think that you had to do all this. Fortunately, with her help I was able to figure it out."

"Her?" Kouyou's eyes narrowed in confusion, and then flared open in shock of what they beheld before them. "How?"

"Brother." She stood before him, the spirit of his sister Midori. Behind her, Judai held her card, the Fallen Angel Desire. "Judai used the Card of my Soul to find me in the Sea of Souls, and there I explained to him what had happened to you, and he made me realize that I couldn't go along with this anymore. Please, release yourself from your sorrow, Kouyou."

"My sorrow? No, it is not my sorrow that drives me; the sorrow of those yet to come, those who already yearn for a great hero who can save them from the dangers they face, they are the ones that drive me." Kouyou then focused his gaze past her and into Judai. "In your duel with Haruka Endo, you'd told her that you intended to force a draw against me. I never would have thought that you would try to play this card against me, that you would force my hand like this."

"What?" Judai and Midori called out at the same time as Kouyou raised his hand. Cards appeared in the air above him one after another; Symbol of Heritage, Jurassic World, Devoted Faithful One, Colosseum Cage of the Gladiator Beasts, Light and Darkness Dragon, Madness Pawn, Athena, Nine-Tailed Fox, Awakened One, Heart of Gold, Alpha Wolf, Resonance Lady of Three-in-One, Legendary Fiend, Decoyroid, Judgment Dragon, Ultimate Insect Level Ten, Demise of Defeat, and Kuriboh.

"These cards are the representations of the souls of all those who've participated in this tournament; each of them have contributed a small portion of themselves to the God Card, that their power would be united and wielded by the one worthy of it. But that is not all I can do with them." Threads extended down from the cards, meeting just above Kouyou's hand. "If you do not duel me Judai, I shall bind their souls to mine." For an instant Kouyou's body appeared desiccated, ruined. "When I die, I shall drag them down to hell with me."

"Kouyou!" Midori's spirit stepped forward as though to strike him, but held back.

"Be enraged all you want Midori, but I can not allow it all to end here; Judai has proven that he is the one worthy of becoming the hero that our world needs, and if I must become a black-hearted villain to make him realize this, then that is what I must do." The two siblings glared.

Midori turned away, turned back to Judai. "I'm sorry Judai. I had hoped that we could have ended this without anymore fighting."

"I did too, Midori." He looked down at the card in his hand, and then back to her. "But in the end, we're all duelists. This is the fate that we can't avoid. But don't worry, I still plan on ending this the right way."

"And I believe you will." Midori wrapped her insubstantial arms around Judai, and vanished.

"So Judai, I take it you will accept our duel now?"

"Yes." Kouyou released his grip on the souls of his friends. "No matter what Kouyou, I will show you what being a hero truly means to me." Judai armed his duel disc, drew his cards.

"Then I shall begin this, your final challenge." Kouyou drew his card, taking the first turn. "I activate The One and Only, discarding my hand to add one card of my choice from my deck to my hand, The Shattered Tower." He activated the Field Spell card in his hand, and the ground beneath them shook. Spikes of black energy erupted all across the Duel Tower, and before long the whole edifice began to collapse in on itself. Then, it stopped. Judai looked around at the gaping holes that permeated the tower, and how there was nothing holding it up anymore. "Your turn, Judai."

"Right." Judai drew his card. "I summon Elemental Hero Heat in attack position." As his hero manifested, Judai heard a rumble coming from the hole just before Kouyou.

"The Shattered Tower is the domain of broken dreams, of hearts torn apart and left with nothing but lament. It is a place where those who try to rise up, shall be dragged down by those who could not make it." Bright blue fire shot up from the crevice, joined by two soul rending screams. "When you summon a monster while I don't control any, I can remove fusion material monsters in my hand or grave to perform a Dark Fusion summon. When I do, I then send cards from my deck to the grave equal to the number of material monsters so removed. Therefore, when I remove Featherman and Burst Lady in my grave from play to summon Evil Hero Inferno Wing, I send two cards from my deck to the grave." The fire died down, revealing the monster that had bathed within those flames. It leered down at Heat, its grin revealing sharp fangs.

"…I end my turn." Elemental Hero Heat stood defiant before its opponent, yet aware of its weakness before it.

"And now I take mine, and summon Evil Hero Hell Thief." A lanky, black-clad figure with long flexible fingers slinked around Inferno Wing, desperate to curry favor due to its own zero attack power. "By sacrificing this monster, I grant Inferno Wing the following effect; when it destroys a monster by battle, I draw two cards and discard one of them." Evil Hero Hell Thief prostrated itself before its superior, and for its troubles it was swiftly consumed in Inferno Wing's hell fire. "Inferno Wing, destroy Heat." It did as commanded, punching right through Heat's gut before firing a blast of red flame, Elemental Hero Heat's flame, right at Judai, dropping him down to 1900 life points.

"That's…that's an interesting strategy, Kouyou." Judai said as he caught his breath following Inferno Wing's attack. "As many Dark Fusions as you want, triggered when I summon a monster of my own. The long the duel goes on, the more your grave will grow, and the greater the challenge I have to overcome."

"Very astute Judai." Kouyou discarded his chosen card in accordance with Hell Thief's effect. "And not surprising; your life here as a duelist has been nothing but ever mounting challenges. There have been many times where, if not for your friends, you would never have been able to make it." Kouyou set the remaining card in his hand. "But now you are on your own, cut off from any and all who might help you."

"Yes, I know Kouyou; you believe that I need to become a great hero, the kind of hero that can overcome any trial, that anyone and everyone could rely upon no matter what."

"If you want to save Midori, then that's exactly what you have to do. Now, take your turn, Judai."

"Okay…" Judai breathed in deep, focused on the battle before him. He drew his card. "I summon Elemental Hero Lady Heat, and then play Miracle Fusion, removing her and Heat in my grave to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Nova Master!" The two Fire-attribute heroes joined together, forming a being similar to but unlike Elemental Hero Inferno; a light figure dressed in black and clad in ornate golden red armor, a billowing crimson cape at its back, possessing 2600 attack points. "Nova Master, attack Inferno Wing!" The hero whipped forward, its whole body sheathed in a corona of bright red fire. Like a bullet he punched right through Inferno Wing, turning the Evil Hero's body to ash for 500 points of damage. "And when Nova Master destroys a monster by battle, I get to draw one card." As Judai did so, he saw the sudden appearance of a towering demonic gate.

"I activate my permanent trap card, Hell's Labyrinth." Nova Master found itself compelled to pass through those gates, at which point the gates slammed shut and vanished. "While I control The Shattered Tower, when an Evil Hero I control is destroyed through battle, the battle phase ends and the attacking monster is removed from play until the next standby phase, when it is special summoned to your side of the field in the same battle position it left in."

"And when it does return, that will trigger The Shattered Tower's effect, letting you summon another monster to the field; with that combo, you'll have total control over this duel."

"Only if you can't stop me Judai; only if you don't have the strength of will to restore this tower to its proper shape."

"In that case…" Judai looked at his hand, saw the possibilities his cards presented to him and how they clashed against Kouyou's strategies. "I set one card and end my turn."

"And with my turn, your monster returns to you." The gate appeared again, just long enough to deposit the wandering hero where it belonged. "And now I summon my monster." White hot flames shot up from the crevice before Kouyou, high into the heavens as though attempting to touch the sun itself. "By removing Inferno Wing and Necro-darkman in my grave from play, I perform the Dark Fusion summon for Evil Hero Blasphemous Inferno Wing." The fire then turned black as the twisted creature emerged, its red carapace like blood spattered on a murderer. "With The Shattered Tower sending two more heroes to my grave, I have eight Elemental and Evil heroes in my grave, granting my monster an attack power of 4900. Now I activate its effect, skipping my battle phase to destroy Nova Master for twenty-six hundred points of damage."

Black fire erupted all around Judai, giving him very little time to react. "Trap card activate, Elemental Recharge!" A bright red column of energy surrounded Judai, infusing his being as the black fire burned Nova Master to ash, and then it turned to him, searing his skin for an instant. In the end, he had only 300 life points left.

"Very good Judai; so long as you hold on to even one life point, there is still a chance for you to win, no matter how incredible the odds against you." He then set the one card in his hand. "Now show me the chance you've just created for yourself."

"You got it Kouyou." Judai could feel it in his blood, a mixture of feelings like when he had last dueled Kouyou; the excitement that came from facing an opponent he'd longed to surpass for so long…and this time, lamentation. "This chance, it'll be for the both of us." He drew his card, feeling the weight in it most keenly. "I activate Graceful Charity, drawing three and discarding two." Judai saw the myriad possibilities offered to him, and seized the one he knew he had to. "My Field Spell, Fusion Gate, destroying yours in the process." A great crashing of thunder, pounding blasts of lightning, and slowly but surely the tower restored itself, denying Hell's Labyrinth a place to belong. "A Hero Arrives, to special summon Elemental Hero Stratos from my deck at the cost of half my remaining life points." Judai could still hear Kouyou's words ringing in his ears, that it was only the last life point that mattered. "With Stratos's effect, I add Elemental Hero Woodsman from my deck to my hand, allowing me to activate Fusion Gates effect to remove it along with Voltic in my hand from play and Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Gaia!"

A great stone fist punched up from the ground beneath them, and with it came the form of Elemental Hero Gaia. "I activate its effect, reducing Blasphemous Inferno Wing's attack power by half, and adding that to Gaia's." The other fist came slamming down, causing an eruption of stone beneath Kouyou's monster. "Gaia, attack!" Suffused with the strength of its enemy, Gaia slow but steady blows brought forth the inevitable victory.

"Trap card activate, Cruel Mask." Gaia lurched and struggled as a mask shaped like Kouyou's fallen monster forced itself upon him. "Now Gaia will lose attack power equal to Blasphemous Inferno Wing's, and I shall special summon both Elemental Hero Prismas in my grave to the field in defense."

"Prisma…" Judai remembered that card, and knew he couldn't let Kouyou keep both of them. "Stratos, destroy the one on the left!" Like a crystal pane being shattered, Prisma was destroyed beyond repair. "Now I set one card, and end my turn."

"A valiant effort Judai, but only the surface seeming of the tower has been restored." As Kouyou drew his card his grave began to glow. "There are now at least ten other cards in my grave aside from The One and Only, allowing me to activate its second effect and add Dark Fusion from my deck to my hand." The remaining Prisma began to glow. "Next, I activate Prisma's effect to send Evil Hero Hell Traitor from my deck to the grave to take on its name, allowing me to use Dark Fusion to combine it with the Evil Hero Malicious Edge and summon Evil Hero Super Nova." A pinprick of light manifested on the field, and then exploded with pure heat invisible to the eye. As Judai braced himself, he saw a hole tear open in the air between them, revealing a humanoid figure wreathed in unending white hot fire, its features impossible to make out. "Evil Hero Supernova has thirty-five hundred attack points and can attack each monster the opponent controls. Furthermore, at the cost of five hundred life points, I can draw one card for each monster that it destroys by battle."

"Then you must know what card I have face-down on the field now." Judai said, his dread rising.

"Of course; that was my deck once, and in many ways it still is. I used my connection to it to watch over you, and now it speaks to me, giving me hope that you will not fail." Kouyou smiled benignly, "Super Nova, attack Gaia and Stratos." As curtains of fire in every color came down upon Judai's heroes…

"Quick-spell activate, Residual Reflection! I remove Ocean and Nova Master in my grave from play to reduce all damage I take this turn to zero!" As his living heroes fell, the fallen spirits of their comrades arose to defend Judai and keep him safe for as long as they could.

"Ocean? Yes, you would have sent that to the grave with Graceful Charity. Now I pay five hundred life points and draw two cards in accordance with Super Nova's effect." The light in Kouyou's eyes, it was exactly the same as it was when he drew… "I set one card, and end my turn."

"Kouyou." Judai paused. "Kouyou, what was it that you saw in there? Just what was it that you saw in the Sea of Souls that made you think you had to do all this?"

"What I saw? You already know the answer to that Judai." As he spoke, everything became dark, until only he and Judai remained on the field. "You heard the screams, felt the chill run down your spine; the anguish of souls beyond number crying out for relief…how was I to ignore their plight? I, who's body has been hopelessly weak from birth, couldn't stand by and leave them to their fates. And you, Judai; you who feel so keenly the pain and suffering of your friends, you who know the anguish that comes of being unable to help them when they need you most…in your heart, you can no more ignore this plight than I can." For an instant, Kouyou's face looked withered and wasted, and then light returned, his face back to normal. "Take your turn Judai, be the hero I know you can be, so that you can protect all those who need it."

"A hero…" Judai drew his card with one hand, clenched his fist in the other. "I'll show you here and now, what being a hero means to me, what I've learned over the past three years from everyone here at Duel Academia! I send every card I control to the grave to activate Beyond Heroism, and draw one card for each Elemental Hero that I have removed from play, but I can't draw during my draw phase for an equal number of turns." Judai filled his hand, felt the warmth in those cards. "Since both Ocean and Woodsman are removed from play, I activate Parallel World Fusion and summon Elemental Hero The Earth to the field! Next, I activate Fusion, combining The Earth with Kuriboh and Winged Kuriboh from my hand; come forth, Elemental Hero Heaven and Earth!"

Six wings framed the final and greatest hero, each one spread out at full length to catch the sun's light, create shade and shadow for the two duelists to stand in. "Once again, an exemplarily and skillful summon. Surely you won't waste all that by simply forcing it against my monster?"

"No, I won't. I understand that I have to duel as skillfully as I can, that I have to use each card I draw to its utmost. Therefore, I will discard one card from my hand to destroy your monster and deal damage to you equal to its attack power." Heaven and Earth swept its right wings back…

"I discard one card from my hand to activate Super Fusion." Both heroes became swept up in one another, forcibly combined into the Evil Hero Heaven and Hell. "I too have to duel you with all the skill that I can muster, else the God Card can not be truly completed."

"The God Card." As Kouyou's ultimate monster took to the field, black fire gathering in its hands, Judai felt the presence of a powerful heart beat.

"Yes, with its power comes an incredible will born of all the souls that contributed to its creation, one that can only be tamed by a duelist of absolute and indomitable will. A duelist who can face down a man they once called 'brother' for the good of the world, such a duelist could work miracles with this card and not fear to be overwhelmed by it. And now that it has been summoned, Heaven and Hell's effect activates, destroying all your cards on the field, and discarding all those in your hand."

Judai did as told, and once his hand was empty, his grave began to glow. "I was prepared for this; one of the cards you forced me to discard was Unexpected Reversal; if the opponent forces me to discard from my hand, I can draw one card for each one so discarded." Judai's hand renewed itself. "Now I set both cards and end my turn."

"Very clever Judai; to have withheld such a card until now, that sort of thinking will serve you well before long." Kouyou drew his card, then activated the effect of The One and Only in his grave. "That of course, assumes your face-down cards will be able to save you from Heaven and Hell's power."

"They will, and during your standby phase, I activate my trap card, Hero's Hope; when I have two level six or higher Elemental Heroes in my grave, I can activate a spell card from my deck. The card I choose is De-Fusion, returning our heroes back to our respective sides of the field."

It was all over and done with before Kouyou could respond. "I see. And no doubt your other card will support your ultimate hero. In that case, I discard one card from my hand to equip Evil Hero Supernova with Hell's Demands; when the equipped monster attacks, it can't be destroyed or removed from play, and it will gain attack points equal to the target monster's. With this condition set, there is only one card that can win you this game; Judai, I know that you have set that card, so I attack knowing I have played to my utmost." Supernova gathered fire all around Heaven and Earth, and Judai could see it in Kouyou's eyes; he was waiting for him to activate his face-down card and seize victory.

"I activate my trap card…" Kouyou looked so proud in that moment, so relieved. Then, terrible confusion as Heaven and Earth leaped out of the path of Supernova's attack, which continued unabated towards Judai. "…Double Passe."

"What?" Kouyou, for the first time in a long time, reacted with pure shock and alarm, undisguised confusion at the sequence of events before him. "Back then." He said in realization as Heaven and Earth began its direct attack against him. "Asuka, she gave it to you along with Kuriboh."

"That's right." Judai said as the fire enveloped him, unfeeling of its power. "Like I said, I would force a draw, and I did." Once the fire had passed, he fell to his knees in exhaustion.

"A draw…" Kouyou fell to his knees as well, and as he did, all the illusions of his health and vitality began to fade away; his skin became blotchy and choleric, his bones brittle and frail. "No winner, no loser." He took out the God Card, and watched it vanish before his eyes. "Judai, why?"

"Because," Judai made his way to Kouyou, desperately wanting to be there for him in his final moments, "No matter how hard you tried, I couldn't be that kind of hero; I couldn't be the kind of person who could wield absolute power like that, I'm only human. I'm just a duelist, a guy who was lucky enough to meet some of the greatest duelists of the previous generation, and to befriend some of the greatest of my generation. And together, we've accomplished so much more than any one of us could alone, no matter how powerful that one might be, and we'll keep on doing the same into the future, no matter what it might bring."

"I wish I could take credit for how much Judai's grown up, Kouyou." Midori's spirit reappeared and took Kouyou's now decrepit body in her arms. "But truthfully, I only played a small part in that."

"That's not true Midori; you and Kouyou, I wouldn't be who I am now if it weren't for you being there for me when I was just a kid, willing to watch over me while my parents were always away."

"And for better or worse, I wouldn't be who I am if it weren't for you, Judai." Kouyou attempted a light chuckle, but instead coughed up blood. "My body is at its limit; at best, I can cling to life for one more minute."

"Kouyou…" Spiritual tears appeared on Midori's cheeks.

"At least, I can do this." Kouyou reached out to Midori, and when they touched, her spirit started to glow before flying off back to her body. "There; whatever fate awaits me for what I've done, I can face it knowing that it will be mine alone."

"Kouyou…" Physical tears streamed down Judai's eyes as he held Kouyou's body in his arms, felt him slipping away.

"Judai." Kouyou's voice was a hoarse whisper. "Thank you." And then, he was gone.

"…You're welcome, Kouyou." Judai stood at the top of the Duel Tower of Duel Academia, at the top of his world. And all he could do was sob for the one he couldn't have saved even with the power of the God Card.


	51. Chapter 51

To Tomorrow, Ever Onward, Ever Shining…

* * *

"Today we say goodbye." Principal Samejima looked out upon the student body, and wondered whether she would ever see the like again. "For three years this institution has been the target of those who've tried to subvert it, and turn it against the purpose to which it had been founded. And for three years, one group of students in particular have stood at the vanguard of these battles, facing each and every threat regardless of how grave, or what form that danger took. To each member of this group we owe our deepest gratitude, and to ourselves we owe the obligation to inherit their legacy; for just as we could not demand that the Legendary Duelists protect us from the shadows forever more, no more could we demand the same of these young people who stand on the cusp of adulthood, ready to resume their journeys into the outside world. Therefore, as they move on, we must pick up the baton that they've left behind and run even farther with it."

"I for one, have every confidence that we can meet this challenge." Samejima looked to Takuma and Mizuchi Saiou. "For here at Duel Academia, we are not satisfied with mere victory in a duel; for us, true victory is only achieved when we heal the wounds that drive our enemies to desperation and show them the new path that they may follow should they accept." Samejima then cast her eyes upon a certain group of first year students in the back row. "At the beginning of the year, we met eight young students with fear and suspicion; now we recognize them as the exceptional young duelists who've already had to face so much already that they are." Samejima then brought her focus onto a certain pair of second year students. "And with the continued support of their seniors, I know that they will make us proud."

"And now," Samejima wiped a tear from her eye, "there can be no delaying the inevitable; the time has come for us to recognizing the graduating class of two-thousand and eight." She then motioned to Professor Chronos de Medici, who was wiping the tears from his eyes with a handkerchief. He stood up and approached the podium, taking the mike as he did.

"When I call your name, approach and receive your diploma." Chronos made his way down the line with professional decorum, save two exceptions. "Asuka Tenjouin, Obelisk Blue." He paused as she stood before him. "Right from the very beginning I had the highest expectations I've ever had of any of my students for you. That you were able to exceed those expectations beyond anything I could have imagined, it fills me with pride that I was able to be a small part of that."

"Thank you, Professor Chronos." Asuka bowed politely and took her diploma. More names were called, and when Chronos reached the last one, he paused, a half smile on his face.

"Judai Yuki, Osiris Red." Judai confidently walked up to him, fearing nothing. "The only expectation I had of you was that you would be expelled after only a month or two. Never in my entire life have I been so glad to have been so utterly wrong about anyone."

"I'm glad I could change your mind, Professor Chronos." Judai bowed just as Asuka had, and took his diploma. He then proceeded to join his classmates, his friends, and the one he loved.

"The formalities are now concluded." Samejima's voice rang throughout the auditorium. "Go forth and celebrate, for a new day is upon you all!"

* * *

"Big brother, are you sure about this?" Echo looked in her rearview mirror at Amon, who was watching the Garam family estate vanish over the horizon. He looked down at his little brother, his face softened by the worry on his little brother's face. "Aren't, aren't mom and dad going to be mad?"

Amon smiled, and ruffled his fingers through Shido's hair, mussing it up after the boy had taken such care with it. "I expect that they'll be furious. I hope that they'll be enraged beyond measure, but they are both such composed, controlled people. In any event, they can feel how ever they wish, for it will change nothing. They have no power over us, not anymore."

Echo smiled in contentment; this, this was what she had dreamed of for so long, to be free of all the lies and deceptions, to be able to defy her mother and father without fear of reprisal. It was going to be a long, hard road, but it was going to be one that they'd chosen for themselves. Echo then caught Amon's eyes in the mirror, and through that indirect path she could feel his thoughts; he had learned well in the short time since they'd left behind Duel Academia, making sure not to leave behind any evidence of their presence.

In that time, Amon had exposed himself to her as he had never done before, so tender and afraid. But she guided him, taught him as she had taught herself, and before long he was able to convey his innermost thoughts in a simple touch. There were moments in which Echo looked into his eyes, and saw the boy that he once was, innocent and unaware of the world, a boy who's kindness was not a guise for guile as it was with everyone else she had ever known. She had felt her tears in those times, and did nothing to stop their flow.

"Echo?" Shido spoke to her, pulling her out from her reverie. "When we get where we're going, what are we going to do next?"

Echo smiled as she looked at his eyes in the rear view mirror. "Far…so far…in the distance far away, at the end of my journey, what is there?" Quoting the song had the desired effect on the boy, bringing him an inner sense of peace like it always did. "We are going to do a great many things, all three of us."

And when the time was right, they would repay the Garam Group everything they owed to them. Everything.

* * *

"Midori, please, you can let go now!" Judai could hear the stifled laughter of his friends and peers as Midori hugged him tight, squeezing the life out of him.

"Sorry Judai, but it just hit me that I'm not going to see you again for a long time, and I've gotten so used to seeing you all the time. And besides…" Her voice took on a somber tone. "You're the only little brother I have left now."

The laughter stopped, and Judai found himself reaching around Midori, hugging her in turn. "I know Midori; even after everything that happened, I still can't help missing him." Despite the time that had passed since then, despite how everyone had been there for him, Judai's emotions about Kouyou were still a confused jumble coiled about in his heart. "Maybe, maybe if I had tried to win, and take the God Card…"

"No." Midori pulled back, but kept her hands on Judai's shoulders. "No matter how much it hurts, you made the right choice Judai. We just have to hope that whatever powers my be will have mercy on Kouyou."

"I know Midori, I know…" Judai breathed in deep, gathered his courage. "And I'm going to do my best to keep on being the kind of duelist that Kouyou was, and always make sure to have a fun duel."

"And I'll be sure to send out as many duelists armed with all they need to know to keep you on your toes." Midori said with a light laugh, the positive mood restored. "Well, while I would love to watch the boat take you away, I need to get back to my office and start work on next year's curriculum." The two shared one last brief hug, and then she took off.

"You know Judai," Rei Saotome said, looking at his departing senior with an amused look on her face, "don't be surprised if I'm the one she arms with the secret to beating you."

"Like that's all that great of a challenge." Edo Phoenix said, just a hint of snark in his voice. "Defeating me, now that'll be the challenge of your dueling career." Rei just rolled her eyes in response.

"No matter how many times you ask, I'm not going to duel you Edo."

"Children, enough." Manjoume said, bringing a mirthful smile to Fubuki's face. "Your little squabbles mean nothing in the face of the rebirth of the Manjoume Group, spearheaded by the Fubuman Joint Duel Team."

"Fubuman?" Momiji's eyebrow was arched, and then he turned to Misawa. "Misawa, do you think we should adopt a research team name like that?"

"What, like Misawaji?" Misawa suddenly shivered as he said it. "Definitely not that at the very least."

"Yeah, a cutesy name like that definitely doesn't fit a guy like you." Junko said, jabbing Misawa in the shoulder lightly. "So, you all prepared Momoe?"

"You know it; the world of psychiatric therapy won't know what hit it; Ayukawa says I've got a real knack for it."

"After all the time you've been spending with Hachirou, I'm not surprised." Junko said, wrapping her arm just a bit possessively around Momoe's waist.

"Attention everyone!" The captain of the boat called out to all the gathered students departing from Duel Academia. "We are now boarding, please line up and, well, board." Judai and all of his friends did as told, and by the end, Judai and Asuka were at the very back of the line.

"Hey Judai." Asuka asked, slipping her hand over his. "Where do you want to go first?"

"Where do I want to go?" With just a moment's thought, Judai had his answer. "There's a little game shop in Domino I haven't been to in years I'd like to drop by…"

* * *

"Mr. Kaiba, your three-fifteen appointment has arrived." Seto Kaiba smiled at Isono's announcement through the intercom on his desk.

"Very good, see them in." For ten years he had worked at this project, ever since that strange attack on the Kaiba Corp tower; according to an anonymous source, the Garam Group had sent in sleeper agents among the researchers intent on sabotage, and their numbers were among the deceased. Still, despite the convenience of that apparent revelation, enough evidence had been provided to deal a significant blow to the Garam Group, forcing them to sacrifice many of the gains that they'd made in recent years, most notably the Manjoume Group. While this did allow the Kaiba Corporation to recover from many of the blows it had taken in turn, it had ultimately done nothing to advance the project that Seto knew would create the future.

"Here they are, Mr. Kaiba." Seto looked up at Isono and saw that he was flanked by two young men; according to their files they were in their early twenties, and yet already so accomplished. Not unlike himself in that regard.

"Thank you Isono, you may leave now." Isono did as told, leaving behind the two men to stand on uncertain ground; Seto had deliberately cultivated his reputation, and judging from the looks on their faces, that work was achieving the desired result. "I understand that you two are at the top of your classes at MIT?" Seto glanced at his monitor which displayed their educational records in full detail, and then turned his attention back to them. The younger cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Yes sir, Mr. Kaiba." He bowed down slightly for a moment, his voice smooth and regal. "This has been the case for the both of us ever since we began our education as children, even after being advanced several grades beyond our years."

"I can believe that; I've gone over each of your thesis statements, and found them most intriguing."

"I imagined you would." The elder brother spoke, his voice deep and gravely. "The notion that thought guided by symbolic imagery could be used to effect quantum states, it is not unlike what you duelists believe." The smile on his face was proud, something that Seto appreciated; he hated wasting time with false humility.

"I see your intelligence extends past the academic." Seto had told them nothing regarding why he wanted to speak with them, and they still managed to understand that much. "That will serve you well if you join my project."

"Project?" The younger brother arched an eyebrow in inquiry. "We've heard rumors to be sure, but nothing clear or consistent."

"Then allow me to clarify; this project's purpose is to resolve the energy crisis that faces our entire world. Ten years ago I gained the inspiration to begin the project, but have failed to achieve much more. I believe that you two will be able to complete this, the Magnum Opus of my life."

"A challenge worthy of our intellects." The elder brother looked to the younger, and they both nodded. "When do we start?" Seto Kaiba grinned in victory.

"You will begin work in the Momentum Investigation and Development Section, the M.I.D.S., tomorrow. Even if it takes ten or twenty or forty years, I expect great things from you Rudger, and you, Rex." The Godwin brothers nodded and shook hands with their new employer, swearing the pact that would guide the rest of their lives.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** And I. Am. Done. More than three years I've spent on this one, ridiculously long three-part story. There were scenes near the end of this part of the story that I had in my mind right from the very beginning, like the rematch between Asuka and Echo, and Kouyou defeating Midori and all the fallout from that, so getting that out and on paper, so to speak, was something I really enjoyed.

But, enough about that, three things I'd like to say. One, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to review, that is always appreciated.

Two, this part of the story underwent unbelievably massive revision before I even started posting it. I had everything set, the whole thing outlined, the first eight chapters written...and then I manage to screw up my computer so badly that I had to reboot the hard drive and lost everything, including deck and card information from the previous two parts of the story. So, I had to start over again from scratch, which in the end was a good thing; from what I can recall of what I had originally put together, it was terrible. Just...just terrible. For example, I had some how gotten it into my head to have the characters travel all over the globe like in Digimon Adventure 02. A small portion of that survived with the trip to the Kaiba Corp tower, and the Manjoume Group, but that was nothing compared to the full scope of it all.

Third, yes I do plan on doing my own take on Yugioh 5Ds as indicated by that last part of this final chapter, but not for a good long while; I am taking a break from these long, complex projects, clear my head out, and just relax.

Well, that's it from me. See you next time, whenever that time might be.


End file.
